The Intrigue of a Dark Death
by o0Black-Sand0o
Summary: Shuhei is very protective towards his sister with a stammering problem. No one was allowed to have her, no one was good enough. Not even his friend? Kira at first didn't care, but after a while, maybe he wants to know if he can have the untouchable Kaya
1. Injury and Anger

_**This is my second attempted at an anime... not a big fan of my first. I worked out I shouldn't try to describe the colourful designs of anime, I should such describe it normal and let your minds do the work.**_

The Hollow was just too smart. They had killed the other three but this one was difficult. It may have been because the battle with the Bounts had taxed their stamina or they had just not fought Hollows in a while, but this one seemed to anticipate their moves and act accordingly. Rukia was bruised to the point that her body refused to move, Ichigo and Chad weren't there, being busy training with Urahara to strengthen their attacks whilst in the human world. Orihime was staying back, putting up her shield whenever she could, Kira, Shuhei, Ririn and Noba were trying to fight it but its claws kept pushing them back. Kurodo had run off to get help but so far no one had come.

With a groan, Shuhei slid to the base of the tree the Hollow had thrown him into. He could see Ririn get thrown to the side by the back of one of the Hollows giant hands, her allusions having no effect on him. Kira was backing up as Noba focused on teleporting Ririn to the ground safely. He doing that, however, prevented him from seeing the Hollow's razor claws flying towards him. Just moments before it was to hit him a figure jumped in front of him, taking the hit. At first Shuhei thought it was Rukia but when the woman in shinigami clothing doubled over he saw long, lightly wavy blood red hair, tumbling down from a high ponytail.

"KAYA, YOU IDIOT!" he yelled, pushing himself off the ground.

The Hollow went for another strike as Noba tried to hold up his injured saviour. Before the Hollow could hit them, Kira ran forward and pulled them out of the way. He then looked at Kaya's stomach, where she had two long, deep cuts, above her belly button.

"Are you okay," yelped Shuhei, running over to the new arrival.

Her sand-brown eyes had tears in them that she forced back and her usually average skin colour had changed to sheet white. The only colour to her face was her three small, black stars tattooed under her left eye. Her stance was sluggish and Shuhei doubted she could stand if Noba took his arms away from grasping her sides. Though she was medium build with a small tummy she looked tinny as she shook from pain.

"I'm f...fine," she assured in a shaky voice, pulling out her zanpakuto. "Ensnare the mind, _Kuro Zetsumei._" She directed her blade to point at the Hollow who started screaming.

"STOP! MAKE IT STOP." The Hollow started ripping at its own face, scrambling back from an unseen enemy. "STOOOOOP!"

"Take your shot," Kaya suggested to the Lieutenants.

Shuhei did as she said, giving her a disapproving glare first.

"Who are you?" Kira asked.

She put her zanpakuto into its holster before looking at the blond, pooling her strength to stop the pain in her stomach. "I...I am Ka...Kaya Hisagi, Shuhei's sister

"Come on," ordered Shuhei when he came back from destroying the distracted Hollow. He grabbed Kaya's arm roughly, marching off in the direction of Urahara's shop. 

She just sat there, her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs, her head laying on her knees, head turned to look slightly in front of the group, wincing occasionally from the pain in her unhealed stomach. The group was a slight distance to Kaya's left, sitting next to the table, all in shock. Tessai had set drinks in front of them but none had been touched, and Tessai had yet to move after putting them down, to busy watching Shuhei yell at his sister, shushing anyone who dared interrupt him. Even though Kaya wasn't looking at her brother, everyone knew she was listening to everyone of his words by the fact that her eyes held more and more sorrow the more he yelled.

"HONESTLY, KAYA, YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD ENTER THAT FIGHT AND NOT GET HURT? THAT HOLLOW WAS TAKING DOWN TWO LIEUTENANTS AND YOU, A MEASILY FIFTH SEAT FOR SQUAD EIGHT, THOUGHT YOU COULD HANDLE IT. YOUR THIRD SEAT SUCKS! AND YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD FIGHT IT? NOW LOOK AT YOU."

"That's a bit harsh, Shuhei," cut it Matsumoto, looking at the girl sadly.

"STAY OUT OF THIS, RANGIKU. YOU DON'T THINK AT ALL DO YOU? YOU JUST JUMPED INTO THE FIGHT. IF IZURU HADN'T PULLED YOU OUT OF THE WAY YOU WOULDN'T ME HERE. I'D BE BURING A SISTER!"

"Shuhei, I think she's had eno..." spoke Kira only to be cut off.

"SHUT UP, IZURU! DID YOU EVEN ASSES THE SITUATION TO SEE IF IT WAS SAFE, KAYA?" Shuhei's question was rhetorical because he didn't wait for Kaya to answer. He didn't notice the girl shift her hands to sit under her head, hiding her face as she fought tears. "NO, YOU DIDN'T ASSES THE SITUATION; YOU JUST DID WHAT YOU FELT LIKE. YOU DIDN'T EVEN SENSE THAT NOBA WAS A MODSOUL! IF YOU DID YOU WOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN HURT. MODSOULS CAN'T DIE FROM AN INJURY TO THEIR BODY, THEIR SOUL IS REMOVABLE. THEY'RE LITTLE GREEN BOBBLES!"

"Doesn't me...mean they're not imp...important," muttered Kaya into her arms, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Excuse me!" snapped Shuhei, stopping his pacing to glare at his sister.

Light brown eyes peaked out from above her arm, looking scared but also protective. She raised her face more so her words wouldn't be muffled. She straightened her back and stared straight into her brother's eyes. "Just be...because they're removable a...and little green bobbles doesn't mean they're not wo...worth saving. They are like hu...human souls, they think and they f...feel."

"They were made to help us!" argued Shuhei angrily.

"B..but that doesn't me...mean they ca...can't choose to st...stop helping us," retorted the girl in a soft voice. "You sh...should th...thank them for wanting to help and f...for feeling pain in our place, s...seeing as you think their gigai can ea...easily get hurt se...seeing as it won't k...kill them."

"I think your sister has been yelled at enough," stated Urahara, walking into the room and cutting of any reply Shuhei had. "She needs to heal. Tessai..."

"I can h...heal myself," cut in Kaya. She tried to get up but cried out in pain. Next moment a hand was on each one of her arms, pulling her to her feet with ease. She looked ever side of her to see a man dressed head to toe in black and blue with only his eyes and a little of his scarlet hair showing through the zipper on his hood, and a man in a funky suit with a tall hat, and had half a head of black hair falling past his shoulder and half a head of blond of the same length.

"We will help you, dear lady," the suited man promised, bowing his head and holding his hat so it wouldn't fall off. He then picked up her zanpakuto off the ground, handing it to her. "I am Kurodo and this is Noba. Is there anything you need to heal yourself?"

"C...candles," admitted the young woman. "The smell helps me me...meditate."

"I'll get them," volunteered a little girl with short, choppish blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a dark coloured, oddly designed dress.

"And I'll help you," added Urahara, "So you don't pull apart my home trying to find some." He led the girl out of the room as the two man started to lead Kaya to her room, the whole time with her looking confused at their eagerness to help.

She stopped them when she was beside Kira. She turned to face him, shaking off her helpers so she could perform a painful bow in front of him. She sucked in air to stop herself from crying and screaming out in agony. "Th...thank you, Lie...lieutenant Kira, for sa...saving my life and th...that of No...Noba's."

"You are extremely welcome," assured the third squad member, wishing for her to go heal.

"Thank you," spoke Noba, having been silent till how, when they were standing at the door to Kaya's temporary quarters.

"Fo...for what?" asked Kaya, frowning at him. "You he...helped me here."

"You saved me," whispered the man before zipping up his hood.

"And defended us," added Kurodo. "Don't mind him either, his shy."

"I me...meant what I sa...said and yo...you don't ne...need to th...thank me," informed the red haired girl, wincing at the pain from her stomach. Luckily for her the little girl came bounding up to her, her arms filled with candles.

"Here," she said, holding them out. "We can set them out for you. I'm Ririn."

"Thank you, Ririn, th...that wo...would be much a...appreciated." Kaya opened her door and walked into the dark room. She went and stood in the centre, dropping her zanpakuto on the ground as gentle as she could. "Ju...just put them in a ci...circle about half a metre ar...around me so I do...don't get burnt, if yo...you don't mi...mind."

"Okay," squeaked Ririn, handing Kurodo some of the candles.

Kaya tried to lower herself to the ground only for Noba to walk over and grab her arms when she gave a scream of pain, lowering her to the ground with as little strain on her stomach muscles as possible. He had, of course, unzipped his hood.

When she was sitting cross legged on the ground Noba crouched down next to her, wiping a tear off her cheek as it rolled from her eye. He then rubbed his wet thumb against his forefinger, looking at the water. He could tell it wasn't from her injury but from her brother. He then looked at Kaya. "How do we light the candles?"

"Oh." She reached into her pocket, pulling out a Zippo that was pink with a rose on it. Her brother had given it to her when she joined the academy. "Use this." She showed him how it worked before handing it over. She placed her wrists on her knees comfortable, straightening her back and waiting for the Modsouls to finish before starting to meditate. "Thank you," she said to them as they left the room, closing the door.

The three walked back into the main room to find the other Hisagi pacing, ranting to himself more than anyone else.

"She never thinks, she always just acts by her heart. She's going to get herself killed!"

"She's not here for you to yell at anymore," informed Ichigo coldly, not liking how the man was treating his little sister.

The man seemed to ignore his words and instead replied with, "She almost died. Doesn't she realise her life is more valuable?"

"You care," stated Matsumoto, only just comprehending where Shuhei's anger was coming from. "You're mad because she got hurt, not because she entered the fight."

"Of course I'm mad she entered the fight, it was too dangerous," screamed the man, slightly hysterical as he paced the room still, making everyone fear he would wear a hole down into the training room. "She was shaking and pale. I never want to see her like that again. I never want her to be like that again! She's not going out alone! She's the only person I have left and I promised her when she was born that I would look after her. But then she joined the academy and I thought maybe she'd end up in Squad Four but no, she can only really heal herself so she ended up in Squad Eight with that pervert Kyoraku! Every time I go to their barracks he's calling her 'his darling little Kaya.' She is no one's darling little Kaya! Let alone his."

"But it was her Shikai that enabled you to purify the Hollow," reminded Kira in a calm voice, trying to rationalise with his friend.

"That's another thing," added Shuhei, throwing up his arms. "Her zanpakuto is _Kuro Zetsumei_! Dark Death! And do you know what it does?" He didn't even glance at Kira as he shook his head. "It makes her opponent see their worse fear as though it is alive. It's horrible but she says it's a good thing because Hollows are afraid of what they were afraid of as souls, untainted. She defence it saying that it brings out the Hollow's humanity before they are cleansed but it's just plain horrid. She's such a caring, loving girl and... and... that's her zanpakuto! That's part of her soul!"

"You care for your sister?"

Shuhei looked around for the speaker to find it was Noba, who had been leaning against the doorframe listening to the lieutenant of Squad nine.

"Of course I do," assured Shuhei. "And Kaya knows that!"

"You should tell her again," suggested the Modsoul, turning to leave the room. "People like to hear those things."

Shuhei sighed and dropped to the ground, crossing his legs and running his hands through his hair.

"Done?" Matsumoto asked, getting a nod in reply. "Good, because your sister is fine, a little banged up but fine. And you obviously haven't noticed that her three stars are on the same place on her face as your blue line or her necklace..."

"You mean the tattoo around her neck? Its vines with a rose hanging from it, she has one on her arm too. What's the big deal?" asked the brother in confusion.

The busty woman rolled her eyes. "I think she got them because of yours!"

The Squad Nine Lieutenant gazed at his friend, wondering if she was correct.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everything was calmer now. Shuhei had gone to lie down, as had Matsumoto and Izuru as well as Ichigo, Chad and Renji were back in the training room. In the main room were Rukia, Noba, and Orihime. They were holding a conversation when Urahara came in.

"I found out why our new friend is here," he declared, setting a tray of food on the table. "She's not here to fight Bounts, she's here to fight Hollows in replacement for Rukia so Rukia can train."

"I have to go back?" asked the adopted noble, her eyes holding sadness.

"No, you can train here, the Soul Society just wants you to get your strength up a bit more so you can help with the Bounts. They know they can't stop you from helping so they figured the least they could do was make sure there was less chance of you dying."

"I understand," promised the girl, feeling slightly relieved. "Urahara, why did you bring out that tray? We've all eaten."

"It's for Kaya,' explained the man, opening his fan. "She hasn't eaten yet and healing can make one hungry. Noba, can you take that into her?"

The Modsoul nodded, picking up the tray and walking off to the girl's room. Moments later he came back with the tray, setting it on the table; dropping down to his cross legged on her floor and did up the zipper on his hood, crossing his arms. "No!"

The girls frowned before picking up the tray and going to Kaya's room themselves. They knocked but got no answer. Assuming she was still healing they opened the room. Both girls gave a giggle as they realised why Noba was embarrassed. They walked in and set the tray on the outside of the circle of candles, the girl in the middle not even noticing their presents. They went back to the main room, their faces covered with mirth.

"We know why Noba's blushing," declared Rukia in a sing song voice.

"To stop her wound from closing with her shirt in it she has it folded over so it only covers her chest," explained Orihime. "So all her stomach is showing."

Urahara chuckled behind his fan, looking at the Modsoul that still had his hood zipped up. "Poor Noba, we really shouldn't expose you to such things."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	2. Open Wounds and Recovery

"Lieutenant Kira?"

Said man looked over to see a waterfall of blood. Blinking he realised it was hair, Kaya's hair. It was out of its ponytail and cascading down, over her shoulder as she bent to look at the man. It had to reach the middle of her back at least. It was only then that Izuru noticed how much Kaya looked like her brother and yet, so different. They had the same upside down egg shaped face, the same turn up to the end of their nose, the same small cluster of eyebrow hair slightly separate from the rest of the hair, the same almost none existent upper lip and the same darkness to their features. The differences however were more prominent. Shuhei's eyes were small and dark blue, whilst Kaya's were big and the colour of sand, his hair was black with a blue hue and was unruly, hers was red, wavy and well tamed. The last major difference was Shuhei always had a confident demeanour about him, he calmed people with it, allowing them to feel safe, Kaya, however, looked almost constantly frightened and the way she spoke to people it seemed as though she was worried she'd anger them.

"Hello, Miss Hisagi," greeted Izuru with a smile. "How are you?"

"Better," admitted the woman. "Ma...may I sit?" She gestured to the grass beside him. She got a nod from the blond before sitting down. "Shuie t..told me about your Sh...sh...shikai."

"Shuie?" Izuru asked before just shaking his head. "Never mind. What do you want to know about it?"

"Well." The girl started fidgeting, picking at her sleeve. "Do the i...items you ca...cause to become he...heavier turn ba...back to normal at so...some point?"

"When I reseal my zanpakuto," he explained, he was starting to wonder where this questioning was headed and wished to cut to it. "Why are you asking?"

"I...um... you see I want to build up my strength but w...when I went to the gym this guy kept talking to me a...and Shuie didn't like it so I... I had to stop going. Then Captain Kyoraku offered to he...help but Shuie didn't like ho...How he called me 'little Kaya', but it's just a form of affection, he...he does it to everyone. So... so I was thinking, yo...you could make my zanpakuto heavier and I co...Could train like that. Shuie can't get an...Annoyed with you because you're friends and you don't have to be there when I train."

Izuru smiled kindly to the girl, noticing her stuttering problem. "Of course, Kaya. I'd be happy to help. If you want I can get a spare sword and practice with you, so _Wabisuke_ won't quickly weigh your sword down."

"You don't have too," stammered Kaya, eyes wide.

"I want to," assured the man, standing up. "I think some training would do me good."

"I... I'm not that good," warned the red head. "I'm better at kido."

"That's alright. So am I." Izuru walked into the shop coming back a few moments later with a slightly banged up katana. "Ready?" he asked once the girl had scrambled to her feet and drew her weapon. "I'll hit it two times. _Raise your head,_ _Wabisuke_." His zanpakuto lengthened and flicked out, creating a three sided square. He came at Kaya, allowing her to raise her sword in defence, blocking two hits before he backed off, putting Wabisuke on the back porch. He picked up the substitute katana and turned to the red head, taking a fighting stance. He let her get used to the new weight of her weapon before attacking.

She wasn't nearly as fast as him and a few times he hit her with the blunt side of he's sword to let her know he could cut her. Her hits were fairly powerful for someone her size but could use with some work but she could find weaknesses in his defence, which impressed him. They were fighting for around twenty-five minutes before Izuru halted their battle to make a request.

"Can you release your Shikai?"

"W...what?" she stuttered, wide eyed. "Y...you don't want m...me to so th...that."

"I do," he assured. "I wish to test and strengthen my mind. I have always wished to do so but could never think of a way."

"O...okay, b...but," she fell silent for a moment, looking at the ground. "I...I'll se...see your fea...fears."

"That's alright, no one should be ashamed of their fears." Izuru smiled at her, trying to encourage her.

"_Ensnare the mind, Kuro Zetsumei." _Her blade widened and gained a gap in the centre of the metal, three-quarters of the way up to the hilt. The gap was shaped similar to a love heart with a haunting fish-tail point to where the heart dipped at the top. The blade seemed to glow with faint blue smoke that came away from it in tendrils, being breathed in by Izuru.

Upon moments of Kaya releasing her zanpakuto he started to see things. Everything had a dark glow to it and voices were heard from the shadows, as well as movement seen. Standing off to the right of Kaya was Momo, bleeding from a wound in her chest, and behind her, his sword bloody, was Ichimaru.

"_Izuru, why did you do this to me?" asked Momo in a pained and ghostly voice, a tear running from her eye._

"_Yes, Kira, why did you hurt poor Momo," taunted Ichimaru in the same ghostly voice, his trademark grin in place._

"I... I didn't," stammered Izuru, taking a step back from the figures.

"_We were friends, and you let them hurt me," reminded Momo, holding out her hand for help as she fell to her knees._

"I didn't mean too," he tried to defend himself. "I was following orders and being tricked. I'm sorry." Fear was engulfing him as his hands shook. He feared hurting those he cared for, he feared being controlled and mostly, he feared Ichimaru. The man used him, controlled him, and treated him like a puppet that he was happy to discard. His legs felt weak, as though they would give way any moment. He wanted to beg for it to stop, for them to go away, but then he saw red in his peripherals. He turned his water filled eyes on Kaya, who was standing there, not taking advantage of his weakened state.

She seemed to glow with a warmth, a comfort that he wanted. He needed her to give him that or he would not survive. A small part of his brain, however, knew she wasn't going to entrust it to him easily, so he attacked her.

If she was surprised she didn't show it. She raised her blade to meet his and when their faces were mere inches apart, her appearance changed and he was looking at the beginning of all his pain. Aizen! He recoiled, afraid of the sadistic, uncaring man. When he recoiled Kaya turned back to herself and attacked him. Izuru retaliated easily, putting her on the defence. That's when the voices started again.

"_You enjoy violence, don't you, Kira?" teased Ichimaru. "I've taught you to love it, thirst for it. You cause pain to those around you." The man crouched down behind Momo and stuck his fingers into her wound, prying a cry from the girl as anguish covered her face. "Poor Momo can't even die."_

His hands shook worse than ever, making his strike at Kaya weak and easy to deflect. He was getting desperate. He needed that light of hers. He jumped away from her strike before leaping at her with he intentions of making her surrender.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?"

Shuhei's yell distracted Izuru, making it so that he couldn't control his attack, he was going to hurt Kaya. However, before he could think of a way to stop himself he fell to the ground mid leap like a heavy rock. He felt the tingle of a strong binding kido on his skin and marvelled at the fact that Kaya didn't have to speak the incantation. At this leave even he would have trouble doing that. She had not been exaggerating when she said she was better at kido, she had been modest.

When she deemed it safe she released him before turning to her brother who was standing on the porch with his arms crossed looking every angry.

"Shuie, I as...asked Lieutenant Kir..Kira to help me train." She sealed her zanpakuto, making Ichimaru, Momo and the shadows disappear.

The glow Kaya had to her seemed to stay though and Izuru wondered if he was the only one who could see it or if it was just the light hitting her hair.

"Why did you have _Kuro Zetsumei_ unsealed?" snapped Shuhei, "And why are you training when your injured?"

"I asked her to release her zanpakuto,' interrupted Izuru, grabbing his sword off the porch and sealing it. "And she wanted to build up her strength so I released mine. Don't worry, Shuhei, I wouldn't let your sister get hurt."

The slightly older man sighed in defeat, uncrossing his arms. "Fine. We have to go, Yumichika actually did something right for once."

Izuru nodded before turning to the younger Hisagi and bowing. "Thank you for a challenge, Miss Hisagi." He received a bow back before he followed his friend through the shop to go find the flamboyant Eleventh Squad member. 

They were back in the Soul Society, the Bounts having broken in. They separated from the humans' moments after exiting the gate. Now they were heading off to report to Captain Hitsugaya about what they learnt of the Bounts whilst in the world of the living. They had to stop however, when Matsumoto saw something.

"Isn't that Kaya?" she asked, pointed to the Squad Eight training ground where it seemed most of said squad was assembled. Facing the large number of people were two figures: one with short, aqua blue hair and the other with long, red hair.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Shuhei asked before jumping down to see. He landed in front of his sister, startling her squad members. "Kaya, what are you doing here? You're meant to be in the Human World."

"I was re...recalled by Captain Kyoraku," she justified. "We...we've been ordered to be the... the recovery te...am along with Squad Th...Thirteen."

"So you're assisting Squad Four?" clarified Shuhei. "You go out and collect the injured after the Bounts have left." His sister nodded her head eagerly. "Okay." The man turned his eyes on the boy standing next to Kaya. "Who are you?"

"I'm Chika Arai, Squad Eight's fourth seat," he introduced, holding out his hand. Shuhei shook it, giving it a tight grip and making the boy wince a little. The boy had an innocent, kind face that reminded the Lieutenants of the Squad Four member they met in the world of the living.

"Shuhei," interjected Izuru. "We should go. The Captain would be waiting. Kaya, look after yourself."

"I... I will," she promised in a stammer before the three Lieutenants ran off, her brother giving her a worried look.

They got to Squad Ten barracks and handed in their information before Shuhei was assigned to help Captain Komamura.

He found him in his office, finishing up on paper work before heading to the Captain's meeting. "Your squad and mine will work together. Captain Hitsugaya wants us to try and find out more about these Bounts and not engage them unless it is critical," explained the captain, putting his brush down. "Do you understand, Lieutenant Hisagi?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. Whilst I am at the meeting I want you to assemble the squads into teams, but make sure you leave men here to relay the information to Hitsugaya. I want the teams to come back here then they have learnt anything of significants about the Bounts or how the fight is proceeding."

"Yes, Sir," Shuhei spoke again as the captain of Squad Seven walked out the door. He set about fulfilling his task and had it done before the captain came back. He didn't see his sister for quite some time. Not until Soul Reapers were taken control of by a Doll. The unfortunate people had just fallen to the ground, the Doll having been defeated, when some of Squad Eight showed up to take them to Squad Four.

"Shuie."

He looked around for the speaker and found his sister walking towards him, her squad members running around collecting the unconscious people. He smile, grateful to find her unharmed. "Kaya." He ran forward and hugged her tight, making her try to squirm out of his hold.

"Shuie, no...not in front of my...my team," she said in a quiet voice, finally breaking away.

"I'm just glad you're okay," he disclosed, grabbing her face in his hands and kissing her forehead. "I was worried."

"I'm gl...ad you're okay too," promised the girl before she spotted the captain looking at her. She hit her brother's hands away and bowed to the tall man. "Ca...captain Komamura."

"May I ask, who are you?" inquired the furry man.

"Kaya Hisagi, fi...fifth seat of Squad Eight," she declared before a man from her squad came up to her.

"Miss Hisagi, we are ready to transport these people," he said to her, looking hopeful that she would be pleased.

"Go..good. Take the..." She stopped and put a hand to her headset, letting those in front of her know she was listening to it. "Take th...them and se...send another te..team to meet me just west of he..here."

"Yes, Miss," he agreed with a bow before disappearing with everyone else.

"You're from the recovery team?" asked the captain, getting a nod. "What's happening out there?"

"The pu...nishment squad is down. Mo...st of them were tak..en over," informed Kaya, trying to stop her stammering. "Th..those that weren't were injured defen...defending Captain Soi Fon. She...she's been poi...soned but I...I've been informed she is okay. So..some people ha..ve been ki...killed by a woman Bo...Bount with a Ka..tana and a fan. Squad Four, Eight and Thirteen are wo..working hard to get to the in...injured in time. I... I must go and meet the other te..am. we have to recover the rest of the pun...punishment squad and Captain Soi Fon."

"Good luck there," Shuhei wished his sister, knowing said captain could be stubborn. His sister just gave him a shaky smile before giving him a quick hug, bowing to the captain and running off.

"Your wife?"

"Ew! Captain Komamura, that's my sister!" yelped the man, his face turning green.

"Sorry, it's just I couldn't see resemblance," chuckled the superior, walking off. 

She had been glad to see her brother. She had been worried about him but when she found out about the Doll that could control people her anxiety had heightened. She didn't want to have to find her brother hurt and take him to be healed. He was strong, he was meant to be invincible. She knew deep down that he wasn't but it made her feel better to think he was. She knew he could handle himself though so she breathed easy.

On her way to Soi Fon's location she ran into Izuru who was wondering the roads in stressed confusion.

"Miss Hisagi," he yelled when he spotted the girl jumping from roof to roof. She looked at him before jumping down, landing in front of him, followed by about seven other Soul Reapers. "Do you know what orders Squad Three has, I've gotten no word?" He got a shake of the head as reply.

"Captain Soi Fon mi...might know. We...we're going to see her now," suggested Kaya, gesturing to the team behind her.

"Alright, I'll come with you," decided Izuru. "If she doesn't know then I'll have to find Captain Hitsugaya." He only got a nod in reply before the girl ran off, making him chase after her. He had been right earlier; the sword had been weighing her down for she was much faster now. He honestly had to try to keep up with her.

When they got there, they found Soi Fon standing in an open space with five of her squad members lying unconscious on the ground.

"Assess the in...injuries and prepare them for tran...sportation," ordered Kaya, turning to look over a man lying close by. "Captain, I... I am Kaya Hisagi of Squad Eight."

"Captain Soi Fon, do you what Squad Three's orders are?" Izuru asked, letting Kaya and her team do their work.

"No," snapped the woman, holding her shoulder. "Make sure my men are safe, Miss Hisagi."

"I... I will," assured the woman. "Bu...but you can see...see for yourself, yo...you're coming in too."

"I'm fine," told the captain, stepping to leave only to find the red head in front of her.

"I m...must insist."

Izuru had to admire Kaya's bravery for Soi Fon looked extremely mad.

"Do not question the actions of a captain," seethed the Squad Two leader, side stepping the fifth seat.

For a moment it seemed Kaya had given up but then she raised herself up, pulled back her shoulders and turned with a determined look on her face worthy of a Hisagi. "Captain Soi Fon, I am the le...ader of the recovery team and in war or battle times medical leader and re...covery leaders can overrule a captains orders. I... am ordering you to co...me with us. You will b..e treated and will not leave Squad Four ba..barracks until Captain Unohana says you can herself."

Everyone conscious in the space and not a member of Squad Eight found themselves speechless. Most of them, like Izuru, were speechless for the fact that Kaya had been courageous and had barely stammered in a situation that would have soldiers trembling. Soi Fon, however, was speechless because she had been told off.

Sucking up her pride Soi Fon nodded her head, accepting the order from the lower seat.

"Wow," breathed Izuru, looking at Kaya. "You're the leader?"

Kaya laughed at his question and nodded her head with a smile before ordering her team to take the punishment squad to Squad Four. She was going to accompany then this time to make sure Soi Fon went.

"Goodbye, Lieutenant Kira, be...be careful," addressed the young girl, grabbing Soi Fon's arm so the captain wouldn't have to use her own flashstep.

"Bye, Miss Hisagi, you be careful as well," instructed Izuru, waving as they left.

She was able to get the captain to sit in a bed and be examined long enough for to find Unahana and tell her what was going on. The kind woman promised to make her fellow superior behave so that Kaya could continue her work. After that assurance she returned to helping her teams. The woman with the katana and fan was causing a lot of problems, as well as a man on a giant fish. He had destroyed a few buildings which had then fallen, hurting pass-a-byes. She could barely keep up with all the calls going through. She had two squads at her disposal, the fourth seat of Squad Eight as her second in command and still they were swamped. At least the controlling Doll was destroyed. She didn't have to wonder though as to why her captain put her in charge and not the third or fourth seat. The third seat was a blistering idiot and Chika always said the wrong thing. Plus the captain though her stutter was calming when people were worried or frightened. She couldn't help but see irony in that when she thought of her zanpakuto.

Everything was starting to calm down. The fish guy had been killed and Captain Kurotsuchi taken to his lab to heal himself when she got a call through her headset...  
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	3. Lost One But Hopefully Not Another

She ran as fast as she could, her hair whipping out in her wake. She had gotten the call and told the team to fall back but it was too late. The Bount had engaged one of the recovery teams! She had only heard a hurried explanation of what was going on before screams rang out and the line died. It was the team Chika had been with. His kido sucked but he was an excellent swordsman. She had contacted the team closest and told them to go help but try not to fight the Bount if avoidable. By the sounds of it, it was the woman.

She jumped down from the rooftop, landing before the scene. The team she had ordered in was already there, gathering up the wounded. She noticed a body on the ground. It was Tani, the Soul Reaper in her squad ranked just under her. Her eyes were open wide, a glassy look to them, and her body was covered in blood.

Kaya choked back a sob at the death of her friend, for she had been friends with Tani. To distract herself she went and talked to the leader of the team she had sent in.

"Ho...how is it?"

"Two dead, four injured..." the woman from Squad Thirteen trailed off.

"This particular team had seven in it," she growled. "Who's mi...missing?"

"As far as we can tell," started the woman, not meeting Kaya's eye. "The team was retreating as you had ordered when the woman pursued and attacked them here. We can only assume they covered a fair distance because... Chika is nowhere in sight."

After that confession it felt like tons of water was streaming inside her ears. Chika was her friend like Tani, they had both been a few years older than Kaya and a few years ahead of her in the academy but the moment she entered the squad they had taken to her, protecting her from those that made fun of her stutter. She couldn't lose both her best friends in one day.

"Suzuki," barked Kaya, turning to the man with the last name she spoke. "Y...you will come with m...e. We will find Chika." She then turned to the Squad Thirteen member in front of her. "Ta...take them to Squad Four a...and be careful with the death. Th...they disserve respect."

With that she and Suzuki ran off in the direction the injured team had originally been. They found Chika, laying face down. They ran over to him, turning him over gently to assess his injuries. He was unconscious with a wound to his shoulder, leg, and abdomen as well as a nasty bump to his head. His leg wound had nicked an artery, meaning he would bleed out if they didn't hurry.

Kaya hoisted Chika up with the help of Suzuki and started to make the long progress back to Squad Four, Chika's arm around her shoulders and her arms around his waist tightly, kido helping her support her friend.

"O...only Chika would ge...get injured so far away from Sq...Squad Four," joked Kaya with a feeble smile.

"Are you lying about me again?" Chika asked with a chuckle, only just coming too. With him conscious it was easier to walk, seeing as his feet weren't dragging as much.

"Al...always," replied Kaya, trying to lighten the mood.

Suzuki chose to stay silent, knowing that Chika, Kaya and Tani were all friends and that the fourth and fifth seats were in pain over injuries and loss.

Their progress was stopped when a large man with an orange strip down his head and head phones around his neck stepped in front of them. All three halted, looking at the Bount before Kaya started moving Chika off her shoulder.

"Suzuki, t...take Chika," she ordered.

The man looked stunned as he turned to his superior. "Miss Hisagi, you can't fight him!"

"Do as I said," she snapped, her eyes never leaving the Bount who was smirking at her. The only time her stutter went away was when she was fuelled with absolute rage.

The underling saw the anger in her eyes and did as she asked, knowing it was rare for her to be mad and that when she was, the reason for her zanpakuto was made apparent.

Kaya was scary when angered. She was ruffles, finding any weakness and exploiting it but she only did so to save those she loved. If her heart said no, her body agreed.

"Kaya, don't," pleaded Chika in a weak voice.

"Chika, I need you to live," informed the woman. "So I'm going to make you live. Suzuki, go and don't stop until you get to Squad Four."

Suzuki obeyed her orders as she drew her zanpakuto.

"You can't win," the Bount taunted in a rich, calm voice.

"I know," admitted the red head once her friend was gone. "I expect you will kill me, but my friend will live."

The Bount just chuckled before holding out his hand, a black metal ball in it. He dropped the ball as he said, "_Zeig Dih, Dalk_."

The metal ball broke apart into many other ones that then assembled into a large metal spider with a horrific woman's face that held green eyes, formed into small oval shapes. She was large, around twice the size of Kaya who was an average heighted woman.

"Aren't you pretty!" it declared in a loud voice, looking at Kaya. "I love your hair, it looks like blood."

"_Ensnare the mind, Kuro Zetsumei,_" spoke Kaya in a quiet voice.

"What is this?" yelled the Bount, watching as a young man with short cut brown hair, a clean face and simple clothing walked out of the shadows that had suddenly moved in.

"_Isn't she cute, Sensei?" he asked in a hollow, far off voice, holding out a glowing green object. "But she hurts!" He started crying out in pain. "Sensei, help me! Why didn't you tell me? I just wanted to be like you."_

"STOP!" the Bount yelled at Kaya as she attacked. "Make him go away."

"_Sensei, I don't want to go away, I don't want to die," cried the hallucination._

The doll blocked Kaya's attack as the Bount stumbled back, staring in horror as the young man withered on the ground in pain, all the while yelling out for help. "Dalk, make her stop it! Kill her!"

Dalk obeyed by raising her bum in the air and firing cannon ball after cannon ball at Kaya who either blocked it with kido or dodged. When that failed to hurt her the Doll charged, aiming to stab her with its pointed legs.

Kaya met the leg with her blade, blocking it from striking her face. She tried to push the creature back but it used its weight against her, forcing Kaya to jump out of the way. The second she landed another, leg whipped out towards her, forcing her to jump again, this time onto the roof.

"_Break the heart, Kuro Zetsumei_," instructed Kaya, glaring down at her opponents.

"_Sensei," yelled the young man, crawling towards the Bount. "Why must the young die?"_

Faces, of children and young adults came out of the shadows before retreating, more coming out to replace them. All of them had great agony over their faces, their expressions twisted in silent cries. The Bount was shaking violently from the images flashing before him. He had paled and his Doll was starting to feel the effects.

"You little brat!" spat Dalk, her voice loud and sharp. "If you don't make it stop I will kill you!" She charged at Kaya.

The girl jumped out of the way but the Bount absorbed more reiatsu, making his doll faster. Kaya barely had time to block her. She tried binding kidos but it did little to slow the monstrosity. She was tiring by fighting this opponent, but she knew she was going to lose when she took them on. She pivoted to escape an attack on her right, only to be hit by the arm coming at her from the left. She felt it pierce her skin and make its way through her as though in slow motion, feeling every agonizing inch. Dalk lifted her off the ground before removing her sharp arm from Kaya's torso.

"Kaya!" some yelled as said girl fell backwards. She was caught before hitting the ground, someone cradling her to their body. "_Raise your head, Wabisuke_!"

"Oh, it's the blond man with the weird fringe. He makes me heavy," whined the Doll. "You shouldn't hide your handsome face."

"Leave or I will kill you," optioned Izuru, holding onto Kaya tightly as she shook from blood loss and agony.

"Aren't you meant to kill all Bounts on sight?" the Bount asked in curiosity. Izuru didn't answer, just tightened his hold on the young girl as she gasped for air, her eyes rolling into the back of her head. "Ahhh, it's the young Soul Reaper. I do not wish to see more young people die and I know your weapon can hurt Dalk more than most so I will choose to leave." He called his Doll back to him and walked off.

Izuru only waited till he was around the corner before he sheathed his zanpakuto, put Kaya's away as well before he slipped his arm under her knees, his other hand already behind her back. He picked her up bridal style and flash stepped to Squad Four barracks as fast as he could. When he got there he found many people running around, tending to injured shinigami. He placed Kaya on a free bed, only just realising that his hands, uniform, the side of his face and the back of his hair were covered in blood. The side of his face and the ends of his hair on one of the back points had blood on them because Kaya had had her arm over her wound before he picked her up, but had moved her arm to around his neck, putting her hand on his face at one point as though to try and recognise him. He was pretty sure he had blood in his fringe too, seeing as she had pushed it in her haze.

"Captain Unohana!" yelled Izuru, grabbing some bandages to stem the blood. He was good at healing charms, being an ex-member of this particular squad, but he wanted her healed by someone stronger and less out of touch.

When he turned Kaya must have assumed he was leaving for she grabbed the front of his uniform. "Shuie! Shuie!"

"I'll get him once Unohana gets here," he assured in a hysterical voice.

"Take... Shuie," she whispered in a horse voice, her eyes starting to droop with exhaustion. She let go of Izuru to start tugging on the pocket on the bottom of her top. "Take."

Izuru reached into her pocket and pulled out a lighter that was pink with a rose on it. "I will," he choked out, seeing the inscription on the back. _Kaya, Stay safe as you become a great Soul Reaper. No matter what I love you and want you to stay safe. Love, your brother, Shuie._

"Lieutenant Kira," spoke Unohana kindly, walking up to the man. "You yelled?"

"Heal her!" he demanded in a desperate voice. "She's dying, heal her."

Unahana didn't reprimanded him for bossing around a superior, instead she ordered others to help her get Kaya into a room and in a spiritual barrier before running off to attend to the young girl.

The blond stood there for a moment, watching the medics run around, determining the extent of the wound. He knew it was bad! The Doll's arm had gone through her body. Choking back a sob Izuru took off to deliver bad news. He had no idea where to go so he just flash stepped around, allowing his reiatsu to flare slightly, hoping Shuhei would sense him and find him.

He found someone else however when he stopped in a random street, looking around for his friend. He turned to see Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto coming around a corner. They looked at the Squad Three member, their eyes going wide.

"Lieutenant Kira?" gasped Hitsugaya, looking at the blood. "Are you alright?"

"I have to find Shuhei," declared the man in a hollow voice.

"What happened?" Matsumoto asked, walking towards Izuru and grasping his shoulders. "Whose blood is this?"

"Captain Hitsugaya, the leader and second in command of the recovery team have been injured. I say a member of the recovery team take the second in, the leader was holding off the Bount." He paused, looking at the ground with a frown on his face. "I need to find Shuhei."

"Izuru, perhaps you should lay down," suggested Matsumoto kindly.

"I. Need. To. Find. Shuhei!" growled Izuru, turning his tear-filled eyes on his friend.

With a sigh she relented and asked through her headset if anyone knew the location of Lieutenant Hisagi. "North side, street seven."

Izuru didn't even bother to thank her as he ran off. He found him almost ten minutes later close to the location that he was told. He froze up as he walked towards the older man who smiled at the sight of him till he noticed the blood.

"Izuru, are you okay?" Shuhei questioned, drawing the Seventh Squad captain's attention to the blond man.

"Shuhei," Izuru started but choked on tears. "I... I have to..."

He was interrupted by a man in a red jacket with a hat on his head that looked like an open book.

"Captain," he spoke, "The leader and second in command of the recovery team as well a few members have been wounded, two killed. You have been requested to submit some of your squad members to the recovery team."

"Recovery team?" the captain asked in shock, looking at Shuhei whose eyes were wide with horror.

"My sister?" he inquired before noticing his friend's hand clasped around something. "Izuru, what's that in your hand?" His voice was filled with dread, as though he knew.

The man lifted his sad eyes to his friend before whispering, "I'm sorry." He held out the lighter which Shuhei took with trembling hands. "It's bad. Sh...she encountered a Bount. The metal Doll... It's bad. Unohana's healing her now."

Shuhei's eyes went blank as tears fell, his face pales and his knees gave way. Captain Komamura caught him under the arms and lifted him back onto his feet, keeping a hold of him, knowing he couldn't support himself.

"My sister," yelped the man. He suddenly had a determined look on his face. "She needs me."

He flash stepped away with Captain Komamura and Izuru following him. They found him charging through the Squad Four barracks, looking for his sister. He looked through a window only to see red hair amongst the cluster of Squad Four members. When he saw her face he ran to the door, trying to open it only to be blocked by Lieutenant Isshan.

"Lieutenant Hisagi, you can't go in there," informed the woman.

"SHE'S MY SISTER!" he yelled in reply, trying to get passed the smaller form.

Izuru stopped him however. "Shuhei, let them do their jobs. You can't go in there, you might cause more damage."

Shuhei looked into the room again, this time getting a look at his sister's wounds and her blood coating Unohana's front.

"I'm going to be sick," he declared, going green in the face before he ran to the closest bathroom, ignoring the fact that it was the woman's lavatories.

"Are you going to be able to look after him?" Captain Komamura asked, looking at where the man had disappeared.

"I believe so," confessed Izuru. "If not I'll get him a sedative."

"Very well." The Captain looked grave. "Give him my sympathies but I must go." With that he was gone.

Shuhei came out of the bathroom a few minutes later. He leaned against the wall opposite to his sister's room and slid down until he was sitting on the ground. When he was there he gave a whimper, staring at the door leading to Kaya as though he was wishing her to walk out right then and there in perfect health.

Izuru looked at his friend in despair. He had only lost his parents but he had never been overly close to them. He had no idea what Shuhei was going through, worrying about his sister. He couldn't think of anything else to do but to sit next to the dark haired boy and clasp him on the shoulder.

The older man put his arm on his bent knee and dropped his head onto his arm, stemming the tears with the flesh. "I practically raised her! Our parents were... uncaring. They left us when she was born. I was only ten. I named her too. I always liked the name Kaya, it means peace. She's basically my daughter."

Izuru rubbed Shuhei's back as he shook with tears. "She's strong," he promised. "She took on that Bount by herself and she went off at Captain Soi Fon, making her come here. I've versed her, she has pretty good technique. And she is very peaceful, so you chose her name right."

The pained man gave a wet laugh. "She went off at Captain Soi Fon? Didn't think Kaya had it in her."

They fell silent for a moment before they noticed the fourth seat of Squad Eight run up to them. He fell to his knees, bowing at Shuhei. It was obvious he was weak from injury. "Lieutenant Hisagi," he spoke, still in his low bow, his lips barely off the ground. "I am the reason your sister is here. We were ambushed by the female Bount and I went down before my team were given orders from your sister to retreat. She and Suzuki went after me and then we encountered the other Bount and she ordered Suzuki to take me and go whilst she fought the Bount. It's my fault. I should have ordered my team to retreat, I shouldn't have hesitated. If I hadn't Kaya would be alright."

"You don't know that," whispered Shuhei, lifting his head from his arm. "You don't know what could have happened, all we know is what has happened."

Chika looked up with tears in his eyes. "Kaya's my friend."

"Kaya's everyone's friend. I don't think she knows how to make an enemy." The dark haired man's body racked with sobs again.

"You should go lay down," Izuru advised the fourth seat who did as he was told. The lieutenant then went back to comforting his friend.  
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_**Reviews would be nice, so if you like the story or have helpful words then I'd love to hear it.**_


	4. The Bounts End

_**The bold, italic star (*) means dream whilst the bold, italic, underlined star (**__*****__**) means memory dream. I know I spelt Isane's name wrong in the last chapter. I wrote it from the top of my head.**_

It was hours before the Squad Four members in Kaya's room came out. Shuhei had long fallen asleep, his head on Izuru's shoulder. He had cried himself into exhaustion, the love he felt for his sister evident in every tear. Unohana had exited the room and saw the two, a small, sympathetic smile crossing her face.

"How is she?" Izuru asked, shaking Shuhei's shoulder. The motion did nothing to wake the man who fell the opposite way, landing on the floor, with his face pressed to the ground. "Well his out cold."

"The drink Lian gave him had a mild sedative in it," confessed the captain, watching the sleeping man drool a little. "I'll tell you the extent of the injuries and you can tell him. A fair few of her main organs were damaged but we were able to repair them, though she should be careful for a while. Her spiritual energy took some damage but we injected some reiatsu and she should stay on bed rest for at least a week before only doing mild walks and such after that for about a month to test her stomach muscles that were basically fully destroyed in the attack. She seems to be in a meditated state at the moment, healing herself which should speed up the healing process as long as she doesn't tax herself."

"Thank you, Captain Unohana, and about my earlier rudeness..." he started.

"I understand, Izuru, you were concerned for your friend's little sister. People are allowed to be a little rude in times of distress," assured the woman, who smiled one more time and walked off.

The blond looked at his friend's sleeping form before he decided to just get him a blanket and pillow and let him sleep on the floor. At least he would be in close proximity to his sister. After he had made Shuhei comfortable he started to notice his own tiredness. Sitting down he let his eyes fall shut.

_*****__They had just gotten back from the training lesson in the human world that had gone incredible wrong. They had been saved by Captain Aizen and Lieutenant Ichimaru seeing as Shuhei, the seventh year had been overwhelmed by the sheer number of Hollows that had attacked. They had just stepped back into the academy when they heard a loud yell._

"_Shuie!"_

_The group of academy students looked over to see a teenage girl not much younger then the three youngest academy students running towards them, tears streaming down her face. Shuhei smiled at the girl, holding his arms out for a hug. She buried her face in his chest, her fists clasping his shirt. Her body was shaking with sobs as she hit the man on the chest with one of her fists._

"_Y...yo...you me...me...meany!" she yelled into him, though it came out muffled seeing as her face was buried._

_Shuhei just laughed at the assault, much to the younger academy student's confusion. "Kaya, I'm fine."_

"_Th...the...they said Hol...Hollows a...appeared," she whimpered._

"_It's alright, the captain and lieutenant of Squad Five saved us and I wasn't alone." He shook her shoulder with his hand, making her look at the people standing next to them, staring at her in curiosity._

_Light brown eyes looked up through strands of red hair. Kaya looked at the three standing there staring at her. She went red before digging in her pocket. She then thrusted her hand out, holding a slightly bent chocolate bar out for Izuru to take._

_He looked at her in bewilderment before seeing Shuhei mouth, 'take it.' He did as told making Kaya retract her arm and bury her head again in Shuhei's chest._

_That's when the older man noticed the singes to the young girl's hair. "Kaya, what happened to your hair?"_

"_K...kido," told the girl, unashamed._

"_You ran through a kido lesson again. Well go get Genji to fix it," instructed Shuhei. Kaya just raised her head and stuck her tongue out, blowing a raspberry before burying her head. "She's not that bad." Again she replied with a raspberry with her tongue out. "She's my girlfriend so you're going to have to get used to her." The same reply. "Fine, I'll fix it but if you turn bald don't whinge. Now go!" Shuhei turned the young girl around, letting her run off. "AND STAY AWAY FROM THE KIDO TRAINING SESSIONS!" He sighed, obviously doubting that she would listen. "You should be flattered."_

"_How so?" Momo asked in her girly, quiet voice. _

"_Kaya has a sweet tooth so if she gives you chocolate it is either she likes you as a good friend or is saying thanks," the man explained. "She's too shy to actually address you. That's why she stutters."__*****___

_*****__Izuru was working in the Squad Four barracks, being a member there. People were coming in at large numbers, needing healing. He rushed around the room, trying to help everyone but people kept yelling out for him to assist them first. He paused long enough to look around the room. He was the only medic in sight._

"_Where are all the others?" he asked himself before he felt a tap on his shoulder. Sighing, he turned around. "What?"_

_Standing before him was Kaya, a frightened look on her face at his short tone. "I... I need hel...help."_

_Everyone started yelling, screaming for attention, the noise deafening. He looked Kaya over, noticing it wasn't anything serious. "Can you wait? I'm extremely busy." He didn't wait for a reply before rushing off, not noticing her try to catch his arm to stop him._

_He walked out of the room only to find himself in the forest, his zanpakuto drawn. He scanned his surroundings, seeing nothing that would warrant a weapon. Just encase he didn't put it away as he walked forward, into a cluster of trees. He walked for a minute before a Hollow appeared out of nowhere and swallowed him whole._

_His surroundings changed into that of his office but it looked different. There was ash falling, coating the floor and desk in a layer of black that crunched under his feet. Holding out his hand he caught a bit of the ash, only to notice on closer inspection that it was a black rose petal, the ends curled in, and the edges dry, showing it was dying. _

_He heard a faint whisper go through the room repeatedly but couldn't make it out. He turned in a circle, trying to find answers. As he turned to face away from his desk for the third time he was slammed back, a hand clasped around his throat._

"_How dare you? You really are as depressing as everyone thinks," Shuhei spat, tightening his hold on Izuru's throat. "I defended you and you told her to wait. I thought we were friends, but you are cold, you are heartless, just like Ichimaru. If she dies I will kill you." He pushed the blond away from him, turning his back on him as he paced the room._

"_Izuru... Izuru..."_

_The whisper was becoming clearer and the young man found himself ignoring Shuhei to listen to it. "Do you hear that?"_

"_You idiot, you're still not helping!" snapped the dark haired man, glaring at Izuru._

_Izuru just turned away from him and walked to the doorway he only just noticed was there. Walking through he found a corridor that led him to a door with a bright glow behind it. Opening the door he found a plain room with a large bed in the middle, it's pure white bedspread strained red with blood from the figure curled up on it, their back to him. The black petals fell everywhere in the room except for on the bed._

_Running forward the man knelt beside the figure on the bed, turning them over. "Miss Hisagi, why didn't you tell me that it was severe?"_

"_I...it hurts!" she gasped. "Wh...why did you le...let this happen?"_

"_I didn't! I'm sorry I didn't help earlier." He started smoothing her hair that was on top of her head, the rest spread out on the pillow. When he retracted his hand he found it covered in blood. Her hair, though it looked normal and silky was actually blood. "What?"_

"_Yo...you look happier wi...wi...without the fr...fringe," confessed Kaya, beads of sweat covering her pale face as she shook from blood loss._

_It was only then that he realised he had no fringe covering his left eye. It really was like he was back in Squad Four. Before he could do anything to help the young woman he was pushed aside by Captain Unohana. _

"_Move, Izuru, you are in the way," she growled, which was unusual for her._

_Around ten Squad Four members swarmed Kaya, treating her. One slipped a breathing mask over her face and suddenly her red hair turned black, her frightened face turning dreamy and her large, light brown eyes turned dark brown, the colour of mud. It was Momo._

"_Do you want to start the dissection?" Unohana asked someone standing in the shadows._

_Izuru's eyes widened as Ichimaru walked forward, taking the scalpel from the medic's hand which turned into his sword. He grinned in Izuru's direction as he lifted his sword up, above Momo's body. He never looked away from his ex-Lieutenant as he plunged it down into the girl's body. The moment it made contact it was Kaya who screamed out in pain, her breaths raspy as she looked at the weapon in her chest with wide eyes._

"_NO!" Izuru yelled, running forward. Everyone disappeared when he reached her. He pulled Ichimaru's zanpakuto from her body and pressed his hands to the injury, trying to call on healing kido but it wasn't working. "I'm sorry. I should have been quicker. I should have stopped him."_

"_Hea...heartless."_

_Kaya's words stung more than her brother's. "No! No, I'm not heartless. Please, I'm sorry, don't die because of me."_

"_Izuru..." she spoke in a weak but clear voice. "Izuru..."_

"_What?" __*****_

"Lieutenant Kira! Lieutenant Hisagi!"

Izuru snapped open his eyes and looked at the speaker, finding it to be Isane. He was breathing heavily from the nightmare and was looking everywhere to make sure it wasn't real. He hadn't thought Kaya's zanpakuto had affected him greatly because he fought through it but apparently it had hit a raw nerve. Satisfied that the events he saw were all a dream he turned to the fellow lieutenant who was still trying to wake Shuhei.

When she succeeded she turned to them both and told them why she woke them. "Captain Hitsugaya needs you back at your posts. Only the leader of the Bounts is alive and his made himself stronger somehow. I'm not too sure on the details but they need all the uninjured Soul Reapers to be on duty."

"But... my sister..." started Shuhei, jumping to his feet before Isane held up a hand.

"Is asleep and wont wake up for a long time," she finished his sentence with modifications. "And if you two don't go back to your duties she might not. This Bount is planning to destroy the Seireitei and he has the power to."

"Alright!" snapped the man. "Just give her this if she wakes up and I'm not here." He handed the light-haired woman the lighter before Izuru spoke up.

"I think I'm going to wash this blo..." he trailed off, looking at the red staining his hands.

"Yeah," agreed Shuhei, rubbing the back of his neck with a sad look on his face. "You do that and I'm going to go see if I have new orders."

He flash stepped away as Izuru went into the bathroom, scrubbing the dried blood off of his hands, face, neck and as much as possible out of his hair. He hated seeing the blood, knowing he couldn't do anything to heal the source. He finished cleaning up and went back to his guard duty where Squad Three was stationed.

When he got there he was told that Squad Nine was also now stationed to guard. Shuhei wasn't there yet, probably having not received the order yet. He had just stationed everyone at the most strategic places when he saw the gate being lifted open. He drew his zanpakuto, not going to hold back at the sight of a Bount. He was angry towards this sub-species of humans and was more than ready to take it out on the leader. The person on the other side however, was Jidanbou and a young girl with light red hair.

"Jidanbou?" gasped Izuru, hesitating at the thought of putting his zanpakuto away. "What are you doing? Who's that?"

"I'm Orihime," the girl introduced herself, bouncing forward. She noticed Izuru tighten his hold on his weapon. "You met me in the human world, remember? I fought the Doll that took control of Rukia. Shuhei would know."

Izuru looked closer at the girl's face, suddenly remembering seeing her briefly before heading off to the Bounts' hide out. "Oh, yes, sorry." He put away his zanpakuto and turned to the large gate guardian. "I can take her to Ichigo and the others, Jidanbou."

"Thank you," Jidanbou replied, lowering the gate once Orihime had walked in.

"Do you know where they are?" the young girl asked in a slight worried voice.

"On my way here from Squad Four barracks I overheard that they were at Squad Ten barracks," he assured.

"Why were you at Squad Four barracks? Are you alright?" she inquired, concerned for his wellbeing.

He didn't answer, instead turning from her and walking off in the direction of her friends, expecting her to follow, which she did. He didn't speak a word to her as she told him the story of how she stayed behind to heal her giant friend, hence getting separated from everyone else. She kept saying she hoped no one was badly hurt. When she said this Izuru made a choking noise, remembering the pain on Shuhei's face when he saw his sister laying on the hospital bed.

They reached the barracks and entered, finding Ichigo, Chad, Uryu and the captain and lieutenant of Squad Ten. They explained how Orihime got there before Captain Hitsugaya did what Izuru was dreading. He asked the blond why he had left his post.

He sighed deeply before starting, trying to keep the pain from his voice. "Captain, Miss Hisagi was... injured. I felt spiritual pressure rise and I could tell it was a lower seated Soul Reaper fighting a Bount so I went to assist the fighter. On my way I came across two members of Squad Eight who told me it was their fifth seat, who was the leader of the recovery team, who was fighting the Bount. I arrived on the scene in time to see her fatally injured. The Bount recognised me from the fight in the the World of the Living and retreated. I took Miss Hisagi to Squad Four and found her brother. However, Shuhei was distraught and Captain Komamura left him in my care."

"Is Kaya going to be alright?" asked Matsumoto in concern.

"She's stable," assured the other Lieutenant before turning back to the captain. "May I go now?"

"Yes, you may," sighed the young superior, noticing the turmoil the man was going through at not being able to help his best friend and the young girl. 

The whole time they were resealing the Jōkaishō Shuhei kept chuckling, much to Izuru's confusion. They were assisting with their third one when the blond finally gave into temptation and requested to know what was so funny.

"Kaya is always complaining that the third seat, um, Tatsufusa I think his name is, says kido is useless and will never be as effective in stopping an opponent. Now, when kido is the only real thing that will stop this Bount from fulfilling his plans, Kaya is unable to help. She's the best at kido in her squad and destroyed the record at the academy for the strongest kido performed without the incantation." Shuhei started chuckling again, his hands held up towards the seals. "She's going to be so annoyed when she wakes up."

"Hey," yelped Izuru. "That was my record!"

"Not anymore." The older man laughed. "My sister smashed it. You're second best to a Hisagi... so nothing you're not used to."

"Ha, ha, ha," retorted Izuru dryly. "At least I didn't fail my entry exam first go round... or was it first two?"

"That's just cold!" Shuhei frowned mockingly, not really being hurt by the remark.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	5. Visiting Hours

5. Visiting Hour

_**I seem to be flying through the chapters... though I'm not sure how big this story is going to end up being. If you like please review so I know I'm not wasting my time, though it is fun to write.**_

It took three days for Kaya to wake up only to find herself in the Squad Four Relief Station. Shuhei had been right in assuming she would be annoyed in missing the resealing of the Jōkaishōs. She had been awake for half a day and Shuhei was only just then finding time to go see her. He had been trying to get away from the moment Captain Unohana had sent a member of her squad to tell him of his sister being conscious. Squad Nine, however, had demanded attention and therefore harboured him from returning to his sister's bedside where he had been for the majority of his time since the Bounts destruction.

He had quickly gone over to the shops, getting flowers for his sister, before walking to Squad Four. He was walking instead of flash stepping for one good reason: he was preparing himself. He wasn't ready to see her eyes open, showing the pain she felt from the injuries, but he also wasn't ready to see her look at him with fear for the lecture she expected him to give. It wasn't until he started thinking over it that he realised that he did yell at Kaya a lot for jumping into battle to protect others. He didn't mean too, he was just afraid for her safety. She was more valuable to him than anyone. He was fearful of her ending up in a relief bed like she was now, badly injured.

He was making his way through Squad Three, which was a short cut to his destination. As he walked through he heard boisterous noises which was uncommon for a normally subdue squad. He recognised the two voices. They were Matsumoto and Renji. Rolling his eyes he walked towards the office hiding his friends from view.

"It is! I know it is!" declared Matsumoto loudly and surely.

"No, it's not," retorted Renji, pointing at the woman accursedly.

"Will you two stop?" asked Izuru in his usual soft voice, his eyes drooped.

"NO!" both other Lieutenants snapped.

Shuhei chuckled and shook his head, drawing his three friends' attention. "Don't gang up on Izuru. What's this over anyway?"

Izuru sighed, jumping in before Matsumoto and Renji could start yelling about each other. "They can't remember whose turn it is to buy drinks, all they remember is: I bought the last lot. Rangiku is adamant that it is Renji's turn but he denies it."

"Idiots!" stated Shuhei, shifting the large bouquet in his arms.

This action drew the red head in the room to the 'feminine' object. A sly smile came over Renji's face. "Oh, Hisagi, did a man finally declare his love for you, or are they for Izuru, so you can finally tell him how you feel?"

Izuru and Matsumoto were at either side of Renji in moments. Both of them punched him in the back of the head as Shuhei dropped his eyes sadly.

"My sister likes roses. Two of her friends from academy days used to call her Rose Petal though I'm not sure that's why." He sniffed, flicking his nose with his forefinger, a habit he had when he was upset.

"Oh," was all the other man could say.

Izuru sighed again, walking over to his desk and opening the bottom, deepest draw. From it he pulled out a bag, which he threw at Shuhei. "When I was shopping the other day I saw this, thought you might want to give it to Kaya."

Shuhei caught the bag easily and put his hand in, pulling out the contents. From it he produced a sizable white bear with a blue ribbon tied around its neck. He smiled at the gift. "She'll love it." He paused, looking at his friends standing there, not knowing what to say to him. "I've got to go but I'll come hang out later. If you're lucky I'll buy." With a wave he continued on his way.

He made it to Kaya's room to find it almost the same as when he had seen it the day before. It was full of flowers and get well cards, a bottle of sake sitting by the window, from her captain, boxes of chocolates sitting on the table at the end of her bed and beside her bed was a photo. The photo was new. In it was a smiling Yumichika.

Shuhei had to roll his eyes at that. Yumichika and Ikkaku attended the academy with Kaya, being the ones to call her Rose Petal. He wasn't really sure why the three were friends, especially when Kaya couldn't fight with a sword very well. Deciding to ignore the arrogant photo Shuhei looked at his sister.

She was lying slightly propped up by pillows. She was still fairly pale and her eyes were drooped with tiredness. She was looking at her hands, tears in her eyes. However, when she saw her brother standing at the door a smile spread over her lips.

"Roses!" she declared in a cheerful voice.

"Blue once," added Shuhei, smiling at his sibling. "Your favourite." He walked over and put them in the vase by her bed, next to Yumichika before kissing her forehead. He sat down in the chair next to the bed, putting his feet up on the bed.

Kaya laughed, having noticed her brother's slight grimace at the picture. "Yum...Yumichika said his bea...beauty would help me heal."

"Arrogant," growled the Lieutenant.

"Funny," countered Kaya with a grin. Her eyes fell on the bag. "M...more presents?"

"You're two!" informed Shuhei with a roll of his eyes, dropping the bag on his sister's lap, being careful not to hit her stomach. He watched her squeal and snatch the bag up, opening it eagerly.

She pulled the large bear out and hugged it to her chest. "Th...thank you!"

Shuhei shook his head. "It's not from me, it's from Izuru. He thought you'd like it." He dropped his eyes. "You scared us both."

"B...both?"

"You don't remember anything after getting hurt?"

Kaya thought it over before answering. "I... I remember getting hurt and fall...falling, but someone ca...caught me! They di...didn't fight the Bount, I re...remember them telling the Bo...Bount to leave. I do...don't remember much else."

"It was Izuru that caught you and brought you here," explained the older sibling. "Then he came and got me... he was covered in your blood." Shuhei stopped talking before sucking in a large breath of air. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for always yelling at you for entering a battle. I've always been scared that you'd end up here, like now. If you used your zanpakuto on me you'd see my greatest fear is you! It's you hurt and dying. You're my sister. You're all I have, I can't handle loosing you."

"Yo...you haven't lo...lost me, nor wi...will you." Kaya put a hand on his shoulder. "Y...you're my big bro...brother." She made him smile before holding out her bear. "Do...do you want to hug m...my bear?"

Shuhei looked at the white toy for a moment before laughing loudly, pushing the toy back towards his sister, who hugged it again. "No, thank you, but I am sorry I caused you pain with my yelling. I love you, Kaya."

"I love you too, Shuhei," Kaya promised, using his full name for once and no stutter.

The Lieutenant looked around the room before speaking. "You certainly have a lot of chocolate. I should take some so you don't get fat."

Kaya gave him a mocking glare, making him laugh again. "My ch...chocolate!"

"I've talked to your captain," confessed Shuhei, suddenly going serious again. "He said you were his best Kido performer. He also said you will fight a battle to save someone, even if you know you will die. You entered that battle against the Bount knowing you were going to lose, didn't you?"

Kaya didn't try to deny it as she nodded, not meeting her brother's eye.

"Brave," admired Shuhei, letting out a whistle. "I don't like that you do that but I have to admit it takes guts to enter a fight with before hand knowledge that you are the weaker opponent and will likely lose."

"I to...told the Bount I kn...knew I was going to die," spoke the young girl.

Shuhei nodded, not surprised by that statement. Before he could reply someone knocked on the door. Looking up he saw a member of his squad.

"What?" he snapped, knowing he was about to be pulled away from his sister.

"Sorry, Lieutenant, but you are needed at the barracks," the man said, dropping his head so he didn't have to see the anger on his superiors face.

"Fine." Shuhei looked back at his sister as the other man left. "I'll come see you again when I get time, Kaya."

"Al...alright." Kaya leant forward to give her brother a hug only to wince. She quickly laid back making her brother lean in to hug her. "I'll b...be here." She gave a weak smile at her meek joke.

"Bye," Shuhei whispered as he broke away from the embrace. As he did he noticed Kaya yawn. "Get some sleep."

She nodded, gently scooting down to lay more comfortable. She was still slightly propped up because of the mountain of pillows. She turned on her side minimally and closed her eyes, hugging the bear.

Shuhei turned to leave only to be stopped when Kaya called him back.

"Wait!" she opened her eyes and grabbed a box of chocolates that were sitting on her bedside table. "Gi...give this to Lie...Lieutenant Kira, to thank h...him."

Shuhei nodded, taking the box before walking out of the room, allowing his sister to get some sleep. 

"She looks so beautiful when she's asleep."

"If you do not be quiet, she won't be a sleeping beauty anymore."

"I'm not that loud."

"Actually, you are. Do turn your volume down, she's healing, remember?"

"How can I forget? I should have been there! If we had just gotten our orders on time I would have been there instead of weak, pathetic Kira. I heard he was covered in her blood, how did he get it _all_ over him?"

"You sound jealous, Ikkaku."

"I am not! I'm just worried for Rosie."

"So that crush you had on her for years?"

"Is gone!"

A chuckle rang through the room. "Sure."

A soft groan came from the girl in the bed as she frowned. "Will you two idiots shut up?"

Both man gasped, looking down at their friend in surprise.

"So beautifully said," started Yumichika in a dramatic voice, hand over his heart.

"No stutter," added Ikkaku, wiping a fake tear of happiness.

"You t...wo sure you're not gay?" rumbled Kaya, cracking one eye open. Her stammer was more manageable around them, seeing as she had seen them at their worst and felt there was nothing to be afraid of with them.

"Absolutely positive," declared Yumichika without taking offence, seeing as it was a regular question from his red head friend.

"I could prove it to you," suggested Ikkaku with a wink.

"Yeah, completely gone," muttered the flamboyant man, not loud enough for the injured girl to hear but enough for the bald man too, seeing as he was standing closer to him.

"How are you feeling, Rosie?" enquired Ikkaku, choosing to ignore his man friend as he smiled at the woman, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"A li...little better," she confessed, shifting to face them better. As she did she winced a little, her hand going to her stomach where her injury was. "I think the p...pain killer's help."

"I can imagine," chuckled Yumichika, smiling at his friend. "As well as my picture."

"Of course," agreed Kaya with an amused smile.

"What's that?" asked the third seat of Squad Eleven, pointing to the stuffed toy laying next to Kaya. He had noticed her hugging it in her sleep and knew she didn't have it the other day he visited for she had been asleep then too.

"My br...brother dropped it off," she informed him, not noticing his sigh of relief. "Lieutenant Kira b...bought it for me."

"What?" yelped the man, looking angrily at the bear as though it had insulted him somehow.

"I... I don't know why he bo...bought me it, I think he was just being nice," confessed Kaya with a light blush. "I am his be...best friend's sister."

Yumichika closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, next to the window, arms crossed over his chest. "My dear, Rose Petal, I do believe you're blushing."

"Am not!" protested the girl, her face going a deeper shade of red.

"She's not blushing!" snapped Ikkaku, "She's just not feeling well."

"Of course," agreed the dark hair man, opening his eyes. "That must be it. So did you fight beautifully, Rose Petal?"

"H...hope so." Kaya winced again as she drew a particularly large breath that strained her healing stomach muscles. "Chika ca...came to see me when I woke up. It's good his sa...safe. His wo...worth the pain... they both were."

The two men went sombre, gazing down at the floor. They knew Chika well and had known Tani. The five of them had gone out drinking quiet a lot together and they even knew Chika's little secret. Yumichika had actually had a slight romance with Tani, who was an extremely beautiful woman, both inside and out. Her hair had been dark, her skin tan and she had a Latina accent. Her eyes had been a warm hazel that had seemed to constantly laugh, which suited who she was. She was always laughing, joking, and helping raise people's spirits when it seemed that everything was lost. She only ever saw beauty in the world even when there seemed to be none. She truly had been a gorgeous person.

Yumichika pushed himself off the wall and walked around the other side of the bed, sitting down on Kaya's other side, laying next to her and grabbing her hand as Ikkaku put an arm around Kaya, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

"Her fu...funeral is in two days," remarked Kaya, tears falling from her eyes.

"Captain Unohana said you won't be able to go," spoke Ikkaku, tears soaking his words.

"I will!"

"We know," admitted Yumichika, pushing some strands of hair out of Kaya's face. "We just ask that you let us help so you don't hurt yourself."

"Alright," agreed the girl softly, hugging her new bear to her as she buried her head in her bald friend's chest.

"Shhh," he shushed, stroking her hair as he felt her cry. He could tell by the way she tightened her shoulder muscles that the action was causing her pains in her healing stomach, but she just couldn't seem to hold back the flood. "We miss her too, but she would want us to be happy, to see the beauty still in the world. You have us and Chika, and your brother."

"And Mr. Bear," Yumichika added, picking up said object and waving it in Kaya's face when she looked up. He put on a slightly higher pitched voice, pretending to be the bear. "I'm white and fluffy, and a handsome Lieutenant gave me to you. I know you think he is."

Kaya snorted with laughed, taking the bear back. "I... I'm not going to deny it when an...anyone can see he is." She stopped smiling and took on a more serious expression as she squeezed Yumichika's hand slightly and cuddled into Ikkaku. "Thank you, for... che...cheering me up, I don't know. I'm j...just thankful I have you... and you t...two would make a l...ovely couple."

"Please," scoffed Ikkaku, "I'm too good looking for him."

"Excuse me," scolded the other man. "Who is the beautiful one here?"

"Kaya!"

"Good answer," Ikkaku praised, looking up at the captain who had just walked through the door.

"I never thought I'd see you in bed with two men," commented Captain Kyoraku. "Or one man for that matter, or anyone."

"Except for Mr Bear," added the fifth seat of Squad Eleven, holding up said 'man'.

The captain just gave a confused look at the object that Kaya snatched back as Ikkaku explained. "Lieutenant Kira bought it for her," he spat, obvious dislike imbedded in the man's name.

"How nice," exclaimed the captain, hitting his hat up. "I came down to see how you were, Kaya, and to get away from Nanao, she's been ranting and raving about how you should be getting better treatments and they're not doing enough for you. You have the poor girl worried sick."

"Sorry," murmured said girl, blushing deeply at her superior's concern. Though she shouldn't have been surprised, both her captain and lieutenant had known her since her brother had tried for his entry exam... the first time, and she had wondered off.

"Don't be," assured the man, taking the seat beside Kaya's bed. "This is just more proof to me that she would make a wonderful mother to my children."

"N...now you ha...have to convince her that," chuckled Kaya, keeping her head resting on Ikkaku's shoulder.

"I will succeed eventually!" declared the man, raising a sake bottle in a mock-battle gesture.

"Sure," the three others in the room mumbled, rolling their eyes.

Before the captain wearing pink could reply to their statement a booming voice rang through the room, making its occupants jump with slight surprise.

"THERE YOU TWO ARE!"

They all looked up to see Captain Zaraki walk into the room, making the space seem smaller with his giant size. He looked at his third seat and his fifth seat before turning his one eye on the red head in between the two.

"Who are you?"

"K...Kaya His...His...Hisagi," she stammered, hiding behind Yumichika, who was closer to the giant man and the door. She was less scared of him then when she was younger, seeing as she could now talk around him, though she was worried he would find her weak and try to 'strengthen' her like he had others, which often landed them in the Relief Station for a large period of time.

"Also known as Rose Petal or Rosie," added Ikkaku, tightening his hold on her shoulders to try and make her less scared.

"Huh, I think you screamed in my face the first day we met," Captain Zaraki replied before turning back to the members of his squad. "You two were meant to be running the mandatory Kido practise!"

"But we don't know anything about kido," yelped Yumichika, sitting up in the bed, letting go of Kaya's hand.

"Never do I," reminded the Captain with a twisted smile on his scarred face. "So you're doing it!"

Ikkaku sighed, giving Kaya's shoulders another squeeze before getting up. "Fine." He kissed the young girl on the cheek. "Bye, Rosie, be careful and we'll come by again soon."

"Get better, Beautiful," instructed Yumichika, raising her hand to his lips, kissing the skin before leaving with his friend and Captain.

Kaya was left with her captain who was studying her over his cup of sake. Upon noticing his eyes on her she started to blush and shift in her seat a little, which made her wince in pain. She hated it when people stared at her.

"W...what?" snapped Kaya, glaring at her superior.

"You've certainly grown up from when I first met you. Zaraki is right, you were terrified of him, though you were five... so I don't blame you, but you've grown is all, and you're making me feel old." Captain Kyoraku sipped his sake before looking at Kaya thoughtfully. "Think if I said something like that in front of Nanao she'd date me."

"No, I would not," snapped the woman, appearing in the doorway, hitting the man on the back of the head with a fan. "Captain Zaraki said you were here. I told you to let Kaya get sleep but no, you couldn't let her rest so she won't be in pain, you had to come here so you wouldn't have to do any work."

"I wouldn't have came in if she was asleep, but she was awake," justified the captain, cringing away from the fan. "She was laying there with Ikkaku and Yumichika from Squad Eleven."

"I still told you not to come, now we're going!" Nanao grabbed the brunette by the ear before smiling at the woman in the bed. "Feel better, Kaya, we need you around Squad Eight."

"B...bye, Nanao," Kaya said with a wave and a smile as her captain was pulled out of the room by his ear, which was in the lieutenants steel grip. After that she laid her head back down and fell asleep. 


	6. Fifty Years or So Back

6. Fifty years or so back!

She bounced slightly with every step her brother took, making her wrap her hands tighter around his forehead. Her brother just chuckled and reached up, rubbing her shoulder blindly to get her to relax. They had been walking for an hour to get to the Seireitei from District 73. Unfortunately it was a hot day and the little red-head was starting to feel thirsty, but she didn't want to burden her brother who let her sit on his shoulders when her legs had become tired. She licked her lips for the fifth time when a drink appeared in front of her, her brother having pulled it out of the shoulder bag he wore.

"I knew you were thirsty," he told her, she being able to see the movement of his cheeks, meaning he was smiling.

"Th...th...thank you," she whispered, taking the drink enthusiastically. When she was finished she handed it back to her brother who took it. That's when she saw it. Great white walls, so high one couldn't see what was on the other side. The walls themselves seemed to radiate excited mystery. "Do...down! D...own! D...down!" demanded Kaya, bouncing happily on her brother's shoulders before hands grabbed her waist, lifting her up off her perch and then lowering her to the ground.

She went to run forward but Shuhei anticipated it and grabbed her hand. She looked up at her brother with pleading eyes, only to see him wink and run, letting go of her hand. Though he wasn't running his medium speed, Kaya couldn't tell as she ran as fast as she could, beating her brother to the gate.

"Oh, damn, you win," pouted Shuhei, crossing his arms and looking at the ground. "Guess you'll have to get the prize." He saw his sister looking eager before he spoke again. "A tickle."

She squealed as her brother's fingers attacked her sides. She turned her back on him, trying to get him to stop. "N...no! I...it tick...tickles."

"Really?" exclaimed Shuhei in false shock, "I had no idea." He stopped tickling his sister when a large man purposely rammed into him. He straightened up and looked at the man who was sneering at him as Kaya grabbed a hold of the back of his shirt, hiding herself from view. "Watch what you're doing?"

"Why should I, Rukongai Rat?" the man snap, "Little Rat," he added, seeing the little girl peeking out from behind her brother. The man turned his eyes on the building right next to them for a moment before looking back at Shuhei. "You honestly think that you can get into the academy? Good luck but I highly doubt they would sink so low as to let you in."

"You must be noble filth," evaluated Shuhei, noticing the crest on his chest.

"I'm part of the noble clan of Omaeda," boasted the man, his finger going up his nose.

Shuhei tried not to laugh when he heard Kaya whisper 'ew', seeing as she was five and had more dignity and hygiene then this 'noble'.

"Those sitting the entry exam have five minutes before we close these doors," a sensei yelled from the entrance into the building.

Omaeda scoffed at Shuhei before barging passed and walking into the building.

Shuhei then turned to his sister, crouching down in front of the little girl. For a fifteen-year-old, the dark haired man was tall, but slender. He was planning to build up the moment he got into the academy.

"Alright, Kaya," he started, opening his shoulder bag. "Here's a sandwich, I'll put it in your handbag," he held the sandwich up before unzipping the pink, square bag that was draped diagonally over her small chest, putting it carefully in there before zipping it back up, "You can get free drinks in that building over there, and here's your doll."

He handed over the doll that had a blue dress and fairy wings on its back with a crown on its head that was covered in red hair. Shuhei had worked for a week just to get Kaya the doll because it had red hair and Kaya was the only person in district 73 with red hair.

Kaya hugged the doll to her chest as she dropped her head a little and started biting her index finger. This was a habit she had when nerves or embarrassed. She was only biting her finger softly but seemed to be chewing on it, making it turn slightly red.

"Stop that," scolded the older Hisagi, lightly slapping the small hand out of her mouth. "You'll hurt yourself."

Kaya fidgeted before jumping forward, wrapping her little arms around Shuhei's neck. She kissed his cheek and spoke in his ear. "Good luck, Shuie."

Shuhei pulled out of the hug, his eyes wide with shock as his arms sat loosely around Kaya's small form. "You said a full sentence! No stutter. Kaya, have you been practising or something?" he watched his sister's head bob before he picked her up, hugging her tight and kissing her forehead. "I'm so proud of you, Kaya, I know that couldn't have been easy." He put her back on her feet. "I have to go, but I'll be out soon, just stay around here and don't talk to any strangers and if you see anyone in a white robe with a number one through to thirteen on the back, bow, their captains. Bye, Kaya, be careful and don't wonder off." Shuhei gave her one more hug before running over to the building, waving at her when he got to the door.

Kaya waved back even though her brother had already disappeared inside. She stood there for a moment before raising her hand up high, her doll clasped in its grip. She watched the wings flap from the wing gushing passed as she ran around, making it seem as though her fairy was flying. She giggled, watching it not paying attention to her surroundings. She stopped and looked around when all she saw around her was green.

She was standing in a field of grass, the buildings behind her were nowhere near the walls that surrounded the Seireitei. She was scared, knowing she was lost. Hugging the doll to her chest she walked forward, up a small hill. The grass was damp from rain of that night and as she reached the top she slipped, landing on her stomach and getting grass stains on her yellow dress. Scrambling to her feet she looked at what was on the other side of the hill before a quiet squeal escaped her lips. "P...puppy," she whispered to herself before jogging forward, advancing on the figure.

As she reached him, he turned and make to run, not seeing her. Before he could get away though, Kaya grabbed the tail of his long, white robe, forgetting what her brother said. He didn't feel her tuck as he flash stepped, taking Kaya with him. Her laugh of joy was stuck in her throat by the wind whipping passed her, making it hard to breath, but no less fun.

When he slowed to a jog, Kaya let go, landing unsteadily on her feet in an unknown area.

"Pu...puppy," whimpered Kaya, watching the figure disappear. She was now in a corridor of what looked to be a city. She walked forward, staying close to the wall. She came across a left turn. She allowed her fairy princess to look around the corner before she did. When she determined it was safe she turned the corner. She continued like that for around ten minutes before she stopped, whipping the sweat off her forehead. She didn't get the chance to decide what to do next before someone large landed in front of her. She raised her eyes, taking in their whole form. When she reached his scared face she started to tremble.

"Ar...ar..ARRRRRRRR!" Kaya screamed, backing away before turning around and running as fast as her little legs would take her.

"Kenny, that girl's head looked like it was on fire," a little voice said from the man's shoulder, the body attached watching the girl run off.

She made her way blindly through the city, putting as much distance as possible between the large, scary man and herself. She stopped when she found her lungs having trouble getting in the oxygen she needed. When Kaya looked around this time, she saw what looked to be a fountain in the distance. Water shot into the air, creating colourful rainbows everywhere that seemed to dance in the sky.

She watched in awe, her feet magnetically carrying her towards the display. It turned out to not be a fountain, but a woman, who was holding the hilt of a sword, water coming out of it, just after the guard, replacing the blade.

The woman had a caring, friendly face with a smile that showed she wouldn't harm anyone unless she had to. She was a beautiful woman with long, black hair put up in a simple bun with her bangs hanging loose, around her face. She was so focused on her practice that she didn't notice Kaya walking forward, wanting to play with the water. She noticed the red-head when she spun, water splashing over Kaya, soaking her from top to bottom. The woman gasped, sealing her zanpakuto before racing forward to the girl who spat water out her mouth like a fountain.

"I'm so sorry," she spoke to the girl, crouching down. She noticed that the little girl was shaking from cold as her captain came around the corner.

"Miyako, Captain Zaraki said there is a little girl running aro..." the white haired captain stopped talking as he saw the girl in question standing with his third seat. "Oh, you found her... Why is she wet and her lips turning blue?"

"I was practising and didn't see her," explained Miyako as her captain took off his white robe and placed it on the girl, who jumped away from him in fear.

"It's okay," assured the man, "I'm Captain Ukitake. Here, I think I have something you'll like." He dug in his sleeve, pulling out a candy bar. He handed it to the girl with a warm smile on his face.

Kaya looked from the chocolate to Captain Ukitake and back before a little hand grabbed it through the sleeve of the white robe, her arm to small to appear out the end. She tried to open it but couldn't because her hands were still hidden and she had never come across packaging like the one it was in.

"I'm Miyako Shiba," introduced the woman as she opened the treat for Kaya.

The little girl was too preoccupied with the candy to be afraid, though she found the two nice and unthreatening. She put the bar in her mouth, it being so wide that it barely fit. She stood there sucking on it, both hands clamped on it. However she stopped after a moment, pulling it out of her mouth to talk. "I...I'm c...c...cold," she mouthed, no noise actually coming out.

"You poor thing," gushed Miyako, rubbing the girl's arms. "Come on, the office should be warm."

Kaya started backing away, the chocolate bar back in her mouth. She shook her head, looking frightened.

Captain Ukitake crouched down as well, making sure not to crowd her when he did. "Do you know about the Gotei?" He watched her nod. "Well you must know that the captains wear white haoris with a number between one and thirteen. The one I was wearing, that I put on you, has thirteen on it. I'm a captain."

Sandy-brown eyes went wide before Kaya dipped into a bow.

"Watch it," warned the Third Seat. "You're going to get chocolate in your hair." She pushed the red strands behind the girl's shoulders as she straightened up. "Can you trust us?" She watched the little girl nod before she stood back up and held her hand out for her to take. After that she started leading her back to their office to warm up.

When they got there they found Kaien sitting at his desk, doing paperwork. He looked up as the three entered and was surprised to see the cold little girl holding the hand of his wife. "I didn't know we were adopting," he joked.

"Very funny," scolded Miyako good-naturedly as she led the little girl to the couch. "She entered the training ground... I had my zanpakuto resealed."

A look of comprehension came across Kaien's face as Captain Ukitake spoke, "Can you go see Lieutenant Yachiru and ask for a spare uniform? This young lady should be the same size."

Kaien agreed and ran out of the room as his wife grabbed some blankets out of the closet to wrap around the girl. They kept blankets in the room out of fear of their captain getting a cold.

"Do you like the chocolate?" the woman asked in a kind voice.

Kaya nodded, not wanting to remove the treat from her mouth.

"Captain, I think you've started an addiction," laughed Miyako, looking over her shoulder at the man in question.

"Oops," chuckled the captain in reply, looking at the little girl enjoying her treat. "What's your name, little one?"

She didn't answer, just looked up at him with large, frightened eyes, the chocolate still in her mouth.

"I think you've scared her into silence," someone joked from the door, making Kaya jump out of her seat and hide behind the couch.

"You're worse," Ukitake countered, looking at his friend. "What brings you and Lieutenant Kurono here?"

"Paper work mainly," confessed the lazy captain, his lieutenant holding out a stack of paper addressed to Squad Ten. "They messed up again and gave us your work."

"Well that's not smart, you don't even do your own," joked Kaien, walking back into the office with black garments in his hand. "Lieutenant Yachiru asked if her hair went out when she got wet. She seemed to think that her head was on fire."

The adults laughed at the young girl's misunderstanding as Kaien handed the clothing to his wife who went around behind the couch to keep her modesty. When she was dressed, Miyako led her out from behind the couch and sat her on the soft seat. She did fit into the uniform, though it was a little big on her, but not in a debilitating way.

She swung her feet as she eyed the adults warily. She had almost finished eating her chocolate so was paying more attention to the strangers in front of her.

"Captain, I have to oversee a training session so I'm going to get Nanao up here to here to get you to do your work," explained Lieutenant Kurono in a playful voice. "I figure you'll do it if Captain Ukitake is here to be a good example."

"Uh huh," he muttered, obviously not agreeing. His Lieutenant was gone in an instant, flash-stepping to go get the younger subordinate. With her no longer there he turned to the little red head with a kind smile. "Hi, sweetie, I'm Captain Kyoraku, but you can call me Shunsui. What's your name?"

She crawled away from him, her face covered in chocolate. She stopped when a girl stumbled through the door, making her catch a giggle, worried it would anger the new arrival if she laughed.

"Lieutenant Kurono sent me to make sure you're doing your paper work, Captain," the young woman exclaimed in a timid voice, pushing hair out of her face and fixing her obscured glasses.

Something about the way she was unsure of herself made the red head feel comfortable towards her. She reminded her of what Shuhei said she was like.

The woman saw Kaya sitting on the lounge before a soft expression came across her face. "How can you lot let that cute girl be covered in chocolate?" she scolded gently before getting a cloth from the sink off to the side and dampening it. She walked over to her, ignoring the slight noises of protest from her superiors.

They were all surprised when the little girl didn't cringe away from her as she whipped her face clean.

"There you go, we can see your pretty face now," cooed the dark haired woman before her eyes went wide. The little red head had just climbed onto her lap, hugging her middle. "Who is this?"

"We're not sure," admitted Miyako, "She just walked onto the training ground and I soaked her with my zanpukato. She seems to like you, Nanao."

"I... I'm K...k...Kaya Hisa...Hisagi," came a whisper from the face buried in Nanao's stomach.

"I'm Nanao," replied the woman, putting a hand under Kaya's chin to make her look up. "Kaya's a pretty name. How did you get here?"

Kaya sat up to whisper in Nanao's ear, but it travelled around the room. "M...my broth...brother. Do...n't tell hi...him I ra...n o...o...off."

"You ran away from him?" enquired the Squad Eight member.

Kaya shook her head, her hair flicked out around her. "I fo...foll...followed pu...puppy."

"I have a feeling she's talking about Captain Komamura," chuckled Ukitake, smiling kindly.

"Where's your brother?" Kyoraku asked, and then watched her flinch as though he scolded her. He forgot she was shy towards them.

"Oh, sweetie, the captain is okay," assured Nanao in a nurturing voice, hugging the girl. "He's nice."

"A...a...aca...academy ent...entry ex...ex...exam," stammered Kaya worse than when she talked to Nanao.

"Miyako, could you go down there and leave a message for Mr Hisagi that his sister is here?" asked Ukitake in his kind voice. "Kaya, darling, what's his name?"

Kaya looked at Nanao who nodded, silently letting her know it was alright. "Shu...Shuhei."

"Very well," spoke Ukitake, clapping his hands, and smiling happily at the little child. "Miyako?"

"On it!"

"I'll come with you," said Kaien, "I have some papers to drop off."

The married couple left the room leaving the two senior captains and the young Squad Eight member with the young Hisagi. Kyoraku flopped down onto an arm chair, looking at his Squad member unashamed, as his friend walked off to the side.

He made them all tea except for Kaya who he made hot chocolate. He watched her lift her head from Nanao's stomach to look at it and smell it. She seemed frightened that he wouldn't like her actions but when he gave her one of his kindest smiles she blushed and took it carefully. "Watch out, it's hot," he warned, smiling wider when she blew off the steam. He did adore children.

For an hour Nanao and Kaya played games, the little girl even showing the older woman her doll. They played snap and the adults found it honourable that when she put down the same card as Nanao she pulled her hand back before slapping it down. Most people hovered their hand over the cards when they knew it was a pair. Nanao of course let her win most hands, winning one or two so Kaya didn't find it odd.

Kyoraku was actually doing paperwork, with the insistence of Ukitake. However, his friend had to go rest after a violent attack that had thrown Kaya back into her shell of uncertainty. The Squad Eight captain knew Kaya's brother would be coming to collect her soon and looked up to check if she would be ready. He was surprised to find Nanao asleep on the lounge, cards scattered all around her and the little red head standing in front of him, her eyes wide.

"Hello, Kaya," he said kindly, making sure to smile. His eyes went wide when the little girl suddenly used his pink kimono to climb onto his slap. She tucked herself into the croak of his arm, pulling the edge of the pink garment over her as she put her doll in her arm like she was in his. He looked down at her in confusion, seeing her eyes drooping. "Did you have fun with Nanao?"

She nodded, cuddling into him. She didn't seem to notice him stiffen at first. He wasn't used to the contact of a child. It wasn't that he didn't like children. He found then adorable and he knew Ukitake wanted to be a dad and if he ever became one he'd love to be the fun uncle but he never saw himself as the fatherly type. However, here was a little girl that was seeking his comfort to help her nap. Trying to behave as someone that was a natural with children he hugged her and shifted in his seat so she'd be more comfortable.

He put his paperwork to the side, seeing as his writing hand was attached to the arm wrapped around Kaya's shoulders and he didn't want to wake the young girl. He sat in silence for around twenty minutes before a noise from the door alerted him to company.

"Oh thank god," sighed a young boy around fifteen walking into the room.

Kyoraku looked at the boy in surprise before whispering, "Who are you?"

The boy looked him over, his eyes landing on Kaya twice before he took in Kyoraku's white haori under his pink kimono. The boy's blue eyes went wide before he dipped into a low bow. "Forgive me, Captain, I am Shuhei Hisagi."

The captain was surprised at the level of confidence in his voice. He didn't stutter, stammer, flinch or blush like Kaya. But the two did have similarities in looks if you ignored the blue to the boy's eyes and the black to his hair. Kyoraku looked at Nanao on the lounge before picking up his writing brush and flicking it at the slumbering woman. She jumped awake and looked at him in surprise. "Kaya's brother is here."

Nanao jumped up, gathering Kaya's dress, handbag and some chocolates for her as Kyoraku nudged the young girl awake.

She opened her eyes beadily, yawning widely as she rubbed her eyes. She then slumped against his form as he stood up, lifting her with him and carrying her over to Shuhei. She held her arms out for him and the young boy took her in a way that showed he had experience with children, or at least Kaya.

"I'm Captain Kyoraku, and that's Nanao," introduced the man as the young woman came up to them. "One of the Squad Thirteen members has a water zanpakuto and soaked her by accident so said female member put her in the Soul Reaper outfit. Her dress is dry now."

"And Captain Ukitake, Squad Thirteen captain, gave her chocolate so he decided to pack her some," added Nanao in a whispered voice.

Shuhei smirked at her in amusement. "I'm guessing Kaya liked you."

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Nanao exclaimed.

"In our district a lot of people notice Kaya because of her hair and intimidate her. Now, she kind of reaches out to those that seem... timid, less controlling."

The young woman took that explanation as her captain talked again. "If you need someone to look after her just bring her here or Squad Eight, my squad. Captain Ukitake loves children and Kaya like's Nanao, whose in my squad."

"I'll do that," assured Shuhei, smiling happily. "Thank you."

Kyoraku held out his hand to Kaya who had one eye open. "Nice meeting you, Miss Hisagi, I hope to see you again." He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it and making her giggle. "If you become a Soul Reaper you'll have a place in my squad, you're a fair opponent in snap."

With Kaya waving over his shoulder, Shuhei said his thanks and goodbyes before carrying the tired girl out of the Seireitei and home. The next two times he had to go through the academy entry exam he let Kaya spend time with Squad Eight and the captain of Squad Thirteen who treated her similar to a daughter.


	7. Bye, Bye, Genji

_**Kaya's around thirteen.**_

She was sitting in the Squad Eight office, talking to Captain Kyoraku who was working his way through his fifth bottle of sake. She had seen him drink more so knew he was far from drunk, but drunk or not he was funny. Her cheeks were red and sore from laughing so hard and her light brown eyes were filled with tears of joy.

"Captain, go easy on Kaya, she can barely breath," scolded Nanao, walking into the room with a stack of paperwork.

"I...it's alright, Nanao," assured Kaya, catching her breath. She lounged back on the couch as she looked at the lieutenant. "I... I can breathe."

"If you die of laughter..." started the woman.

"Then it was a good way to die," finished the Captain, raising his bottle as though in a toast. Nanao just glared down at him from where he was sitting on the floor, he just smiled at her flirtatiously. "My dear, Nanao, you need to learn to live."

"I think you live enough for the both of us," grumbled Nanao, putting the paperwork on the desk.

"Sh...she's got y...ou there," giggled Kaya, sipping her water. She then got up and grabbed some of the paperwork, a brush and ink, throwing the captain a wink as she walked back to her seat. She put her legs up on the lounge, resting the sheets of paper on her thighs, wetting the brush and dipping it into the ink. She started filling out the work as Nanao scoffed, not liking that Kaya voluntarily did what the captain should have been doing himself.

"She's so sweet," declared Captain Kyoraku, taking a swig out of his sake bottle. "Doing my paperwork."

"And you're lazy," snapped Nanao, glaring at her captain. "She shouldn't be doing the paperwork for you."

"I'm not," spoke up Kaya, not looking away from what she was doing. "I'm do...doing it for you." She smiled up at the older woman before continuing on with the work.

"Thank you, Kaya," gushed Nanao, smiling widely at the red-head.

With Nanao's anger stemmed, the captain decided to continue with his jokes, making Kaya laugh and Nanao to at leave hide a giggle. After an hour of the three of them doing work and laughing they heard a knock on the door.

"So sorry to interrupt," spoke the voice, sliding the door open to reveal himself.

"Not at all, Captain Aizen, you're always welcome," greeted Captain Kyoraku lazily, smiling at the man.

"I was just hoping to ask that you could send someone to over look the training my squad's doing. I was doing it myself but my lieutenant and I have been called away," Aizen requested in a friendly voice, slight guilt behind it at what he asked. "It seems as though the academy students who went to the World of the Living have ran into a bit of trouble. The young man that has help out the Gotei before called it in. What's his name?" Aizen pondered for a moment. "Hisagi! Shuhei Hisagi! Apparently its not good. Must go." With that he swept quickly from the room, his lieutenant following with a smile on his face.

Captain Kyoraku and Nanao looked at Kaya, seeing her face drained of colour and her eyes wide with fear. Her breathing was coming sharp and fast, looking like a caged animal before she threw herself off the lounge and ran out of the room, the ink she was writing with flying across the room. The two high ranking Soul Reapers called after her but got no answer.

She ran through the Seireitei to get to the academy. It was one of the longest treks in the Soul Society and she didn't know shunpo, nor have a captain to get a lift from like the first time. When she had finally arrived at the court yard in front of the academy she was gasping for air, doubled over with her hands on her knees.

When she had caught her breath she raced towards the small apartment in which her brother and she lived. It was simple two rooms and a group room like all the other academy students had except that one bedroom was usually for two students. So four students were meant to live in the apartment but seeing as Kaya was female, living in the male dormitory hall, the room was just for the two Hisagis.

She threw the door open upon reaching it, hoping to see her brother there, safe from his mission. Instead she found someone else. Someone she did not want to see was standing in the room, scolding at her.

"What are you doing here? You're meant to be with that lazy captain and his prude lieutenant," hissed the woman.

"Ge...Ge...Gen...Genji, whe...where's Shu...Shuhei?" stammered Kaya, looking at the ground instead of the woman in front of her.

Genji had been dating Shuhei for almost six months and although Shuhei was happy, Kaya suffered. The truth was that Genji didn't like Kaya since Shuhei cared more about his sister then he did his girlfriend. It was pretty understandable that he would seeing as Shuhei raised Kaya.

Because of her jealousy towards Kaya, she found it necessary to taint her and tease her at every opportunity, threatening her so she wouldn't tell anyone.

"If Shuhei was here, he would tell you to leave," spat Genji, walking over to a mirror on the wall to check her black/brown hair fell in perfect ringlets. "Can't you put a full sentence together without stuttering?"

Kaya simply whimpered and ran back outside. She climbed onto the roof, looking towards the direction she knew Shuhei would return. As she waited she felt tears falling down her face. She hugged her knees to her and sobbed, her eyes trained in the direction her brother would appear.

It was almost half an hour later when she spotted him coming over the hill. She jumped down from the roof and went into the apartment to get her jacket. Exiting her room she accidently slammed the door closed, getting a yell from Shuhei's room. Kaya's eyes widened as Genji came out of the other room, a black line going from her eye to her ear.

"I was putting on my make-up," the woman whispered dangerously before she raised her hands and said a low level kido chant.

Kaya ducked but smelt burnt hair, knowing she had got her. She ran from the room as quickly as she could, racing towards were she knew Shuhei would be. She fought the tears, seeing as she couldn't let her brother know. When she was close enough to him that he could hear her, she yelled out to him.

"Shuie!"

She fell into his open arms, balling his uniform in one of her fists and she hit him on the chest with the other. Her body shook with sobs that soaked Shuhei's shoulder.

"Y...yo...you me...me...meany!" she yelled into him, though it came out muffled seeing as her face was buried_._

Shuhei just laughed at the assault, much to the younger academy student's confusion. "Kaya, I'm fine."

"Th...the...they said Hol...Hollows a...appeared," she whimpered, the fear clenching her chest again.

"It's alright, the captain and lieutenant of Squad Five saved us and I wasn't alone." He shook her shoulder with his hand, often his form of getting her out of her shell, making her look at the people standing next to them, staring at her in curiosity.

She felt as though she wasn't breathing properly and she felt her face heating up. She had blushed many times, out of fear and embarrassment but this was different. Living in the seventh year, male dormitory hall allowed Kaya to meet a variety of men but the one before her was the most handsome she had seen.

His face was kind, his blue eyes shining, and a small smile on his pale, delicate skinned face. He had innocence to him that Kaya had never seen before. Most of the people she was introduced to were full-fledged Soul Reapers and had been slightly hardened by war.

Her brother's words registered to her, making her dig into her pocket for a chocolate bar that was slightly bent after her conflict with Genji. She held it out towards the closest of the three people, who was the handsome man. She buried her face in Shuhei's chest to hide the flush to her cheeks.

Her brother fingered the ends of her hair, noticing the singe to it in parts, as well as the messy shortening to those singed parts.

"Kaya, what happened to your hair?"

"K...kido," told Kaya, trying to sound unashamed and fearful so he didn't think it was intentional.

"You ran through a kido lesson again. Well go get Genji to fix it," instructed Shuhei.

Kaya just raised her head and stuck her tongue out, blowing a raspberry before burying her head. She didn't want to go anywhere near that woman, and she wanted her brother to realise the extent of her loathing for her.

"She's not that bad."

Again she replied with a raspberry with her tongue out.

"She's my girlfriend so you're going to have to get used to her."

The same reply.

"Fine, I'll fix it but if you turn bald don't whinge. Now go!" Shuhei turned the young girl around, letting her run off. "AND STAY AWAY FROM THE KIDO TRAINING SESSIONS!" he yelled after her.

When she was out of sight from the academy students she sighed and put a hand to her cheek, hoping the heat had lessened. She allowed a small smile to make its way onto her face as she remembered the man.

She expelled the smile from her face before she made her slow return to the room. She hoped that Shuhei would beat her there, or at least find her on her way and walk with her. Kaya knew Genji would still be mad about the make-up.

Opening the door the first thing she noticed was that Genji was still there, waiting for Shuhei's return, the second thing she acknowledged was the look of distain on her face when she spotted the little red head in the doorway.

A smirk covered her 'girl next door' looks as she took in Kaya's frightened face. "I see you were dumb enough to come back."

Kaya squeaked in response before Genji raised her hands for another kido spell. Thinking quick, the little girl did a simple blocking one that Nanao had taught her. She surprisingly did it more powerful then Genji's, seeing as hers rebounded easily.

The woman before her seemed to puff up like a bird with anger before a scold covered her face. "Insolent."

Kaya ran behind the lounge in the middle of the room, hiding. That's when Genji started throwing things. The young red-head screamed in fright. She had seen this coming for ages. Genji had been getting worse making Kaya start to drop hints to Shuhei of what she was like that he was yet to pick up.

"STOP!" someone yelled.

She recognised her brother's voice in an instant and stuck her head up to see. She wasn't listening to what her brother was yelling at his girlfriend or what she was replying with, she just ran out and hid behind him, hugging him.

This annoyed the dark haired woman more. She glared at the young Hisagi before picking more things up to throw.

Shuhei stayed in front of Kaya the whole time, getting hit by a few of the things and deflecting some. It was when a drinking cup slammed into her brother's cut; forcing him to bleed again did Kaya step out from behind Shuhei.

She raised her arms and yelled something she had heard Nanao used on the captain one time. Next moment, Genji's arms were pulled behind her back a little and she doubled over, crying out in discomfort.

Shuhei ignored her and looked down at his sister with utter amazement on his face. "How did you do that?"

Kaya just gazed at the woman before her as she struggled before giving a shrug, not fully knowing the answer. She knew that most first years had trouble performing 40 and above kidos, binding especially and the one she had performed was 52.

The black haired man looked at Genji before looking back at his sister. "Do you know how to release her?" He saw Kaya duck her head, knowing the answer which made him laugh. "Alright, I'll go get sensei. I think he has the right to know how she's been acting."

Kaya stood awkwardly in the room after her brother left. Genji had fallen to her knees, her forehead pressed to the floor and Kaya didn't know if she should feel glad she was safe or feel sorry she didn't know how to realise the woman.

The sensei came and instructed Kaya how to realise her, complementing the young girl on her kido ability. He then took Genji to be punished, which resulted in her being kicked out of the academy.

It was three days later that Shuhei got around to fixing Kaya's hair. He had worked out he could cut it to just above her shoulders and still get rid of the burnt ends. It was lucky that her hair had been reaching her waist.

"You know," spoke Shuhei, running two fingers down to hold another lock of hair just above where he was to cut it, "you look older with your hair like this. It's nice."

Kaya blushed but wasn't allowed to drop her head seeing as Shuhei was trying to cut her hair evenly. When he was done he sat there looking at her, making her fidget.

"I'm sorry I didn't see it," he whispered, his voice filled with the pain he felt.

"It's okay," she spoke, patting his shoulder. She then bounced. "I'm go...going to...to have a sho...show...shower."

She ran off to the bathroom, closing the door and stripping off. She was quick, just wanting to really wash the hair off. Kaya wrapped a towel around herself, looked in the mirror at her knew hair cut, admiring her brother's handy work before opening the door and walking out.

The first thing she noticed was the other voices in the room. When she looked up, she saw who they belonged too. The moment she laid eyes on the second of the two she went bright red, holding her towel tighter before dashing to her room so fast that one could swear she shunpoed.

_Why?_ Kaya thought, collapsing onto her bed and hearing her brother laugh at her behaviour. _Why did my brother have to let him in when I was in the shower?_

Through her door she could hear the voices of her brother's two male helpers from the Hollow incident, the second of the two being the blond she had blush at on first encounter.

_Hopefully he won't remember this... or ever meeting me._  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	8. Grieving

_**Present**_

The room was quiet and solemn even though it had some of the most people in it out of all the rooms in the Relief Station. There were six in total, all of them standing or sitting around the room in silence. Yumichika was sitting on the bed, looking at the wall, Chika was sitting in a chair near the corner, fiddling with his tie, Captain Kyoraku was sitting on the windowsill, a bottle of Sake in hand, Nanao was standing slightly behind him at his side, and Kaya was standing at the other end of the windowsill with Ikkaku's arm around her, trying to keep her upright.

She was leaning heavily into him and anyone that looked at her would be able to see she had no strength. It took everything she had just to get changed out of the hospital garments she had been forced to wear, and she had Nanao to help her change.

All of them were wearing dark clothing; the Captain had even taken off his pink kimono for a black one, his Captain's haori and other uniform for more unique black attire. Yumichika had taken off his orange garment along with his uniform for a black suit, Nanao wore a deep purple kimono, Chika wore a dark blue suit, Ikkaku in a dusk grey and Kaya wore a black dress, reaching her knees.

Captain Kyoraku looked at Nanao with sad eyes. She seemed to understand his silent request and went over to the bed, where she had left her bag she walked in with. From it she pulled out six shot glasses, taking them over and placing them on the windowsill next to her captain. She watched him try to pour liquid into them before the grief made his hand shake too much and she had to take over. She poured out all six and handed them out to everyone, the recipients knowing not to drink them instantly.

"To Tani," spoke Captain Kyoraku, his voice cracking with misery. "One of the best Soul Reapers, and squad members..."

"And friend," added Kaya, talking for the first time that day, her voice hoarse.

"To Tani," they all chorused before drinking their sake in one mouthful.

Kaya slid from Ikkaku's hold to sit on the opposite end of the windowsill to her captain. When comfortable, she reached over and took his sake bottle, drinking straight from it. She showed no reaction to the bitter taste that greeted her, having ample experience with sake. No one questioned why she grabbed it, though she was gracious enough to refill her captain's cup.

"Kaya?"

Everyone looked over to the door to see Shuhei, Rangiku and Izuru standing there, looking bewildered with the amount of sad faces in the younger Hisagi's room.

Once noticing who it was, Kaya looked away, out the window and started sipping the sake again, stopping long enough to notice her captain's empty cup sitting on the ledge again. She filled it before returning to her activity.

"Why are you out of bed?" her brother questioned, "And why are you dressed? Captain Unahana said you wouldn't be leaving here anytime soon, I checked yesterday."

"Tani's funeral is today," choked out the girl, not looking at those in the doorframe. "Wh...why are yo...u here?"

"We had to bring Renji in," explained a new voice, one she recognized as Izuru. A nod was what he got as reply from the red head who went back to drinking sake. "Should you be drinking?"

"Pr...probably not," confessed Kaya, raising the bottle to her lips.

"Then you shouldn't," spoke up Rangiku, pushing into the room. "I'm all for drinking sake but if it's not the best in your condition then you shouldn't."

Kaya looked at her captain before taking one last sip and handing it back to its original owner. She then looked at her watch. "We ha...have to g...go." She went to get up, only to give a cry and drop.

Ikkaku caught her soothly and before trying to put her back on her feet. However, he found that she didn't have enough strength to hold herself up and him trying to hold her up only strained her stomach. He had to sit her on the ground in the end.

Kaya scratched at the ground in pain as she held her stomach with her other hand, tears cascading from her eyes. She remained that way until a warm hand touched her shoulder, making her look up. The touch felt healing, and its very presence made her feel better. Upon raising her eyes, she understood.

It was Izuru, using a healing kido. When he saw Kaya looking at him he moved to push back her hair with his glowing hand. However, he found it in Ikkaku's tight grip. "I'm helping her. It will help heal her grieving mind and heart as well." He waited until after Ikkaku had looked at Kaya's depressed gaze before pulling his arm out of the other man's grip. He went back to pushing her hair out of her face, noticing that she had a fancy clip holding the other side at bay. He rested his hand on her cheek, allowing the kido to light up her face before moving his hand down the length of her neck. He placed two fingers directly over her heart, feeling it beat rapidly. He then moved on to her stomach, slipping his hand under hers. He could feel the extent of her injury.

She relaxed into his healing touch before he pulled back and took her hands in his and lifted her onto her feet. She smoothed out her dress before looking up into light blue eyes. "Th...thank you."

"You are most welcome, Miss Hisagi." He stepped away from her and bowed, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Noble," scoffed Ikkaku and Yumichika.

"Lieutenant Kira, thank you for helping little Kaya," Captain Kyoraku said, going to tip up his hat only to remember he left it in his quarters for the funeral.

"Izuru, we should let them get going," Shuhei spoke, walking deeper into the room, Rangiku already have left, not being able to handle the serious air to the room. He hugged his sister after his friend nodded. "Be careful alright."

"Don't worry," assured Chika, who hadn't spoken until then. "We will all look after her. We can't afford to lose her too, it'll be too much."

"Yo...you are injured too," reminded the red head. "You ha...have to take it ea...easy as well."

"But," started Chika, standing up and grimacing when weight went onto his sore leg.

"Both of you are to be careful and we are to look after you both," cut in their captain, his face down to hide his sorrow. He realised that they were afraid of the other pushing themselves and causing irreparable damage. He felt Nanao hug his shoulders and was mildly surprised, seeing as it was probably the first time he didn't have to steal a hug off of his Lieutenant. He knew it was only because he was hurting and that was why he was willing to break the contact. "We must go. Kaya, Chika, are you two alright to move?" He watched both his subordinates nod before he got up, grabbing an unopened bottle of sake that was highly expensive. He was planning on putting it on Tani's grave.

Kaya, Chika and Yumichika all picked up bouquets of flowers, one being the Squad Eight's Bird of Paradise. 

There were many at the funeral. There was all of Squad Eight, many of who were in tears from the loss of a friend comrade and friend, many of Squad Thirteen, seeing as the two captains being friends meant the two Squads had often mingled and more from other Squads.

Tani had originally been in Squad Seven, so Captain Komamura was present with his Lieutenant to show their respects. With them came members of Squad Seven, and ex-members who had known and befriended the lovable woman.

It had been Captain Ukitake, on request from Captain Kyoraku, who did the eulogy. It was actually written by Captain Kyoraku, Nanao, Chika and Kaya, but none of them had the strength to say it.

"Tani Oonishi grew up in District five and had never had any desire to join the academy. She did, however, during a drunken dare and had never regretted it. In the academy she met Chika during one kido lesson when Chika's aim was off and instead almost hit Tani. After he had apologised to no end, she simply laughed and said she would hide next time it was his turn. Having not been hit by any of Chika's badly aimed kidos, Tani graduated and joined Squad Seven. She liked Squad Seven but when she saw the carefree nature of Squad Eight and the available sixth seat she was eligible for, she requested a change to Squad Eight where she could be with her friend Chika.

On her first day she put her Captain in place by ceasing his advanced with a joking laugh, instantly making friends with most of the Squad at her bold nature. A few years after the transfer she met Kaya and extended a hand of friendship to her. Tani, unlike many others, never questioned Kaya's friendship to Ikkaku and Yumichika of Squad Eleven and instead embraced it, becoming friends with the two men herself. Tani could always tell when someone was a good person, even if they did not know it themself. She eventually entered into a relationship with Yumichika. Her smile in that time was unrestrainable and like all her smiles, it was infectious. The whole of Squad Eight felt her joy which Tani was grateful for. She loved jokes and laughing, and to make others laugh as well. She did, however, still care for her old Squad Seven and frequently visited Captain Komamura to have tea with him and tease the Lieutenant. She truly was a beautiful, caring person who will be deeply missed by many."

The rest of the service was a blur, filled with tears and heartfelt words. There was a wake after which found the small group talking to many others, though Kaya and Chika had to sit down through most of it.

"So you're the Kaya that Tani talked about?" Captain Komamura asked, already knowing the answer. "I should have made the connection earlier. She loved talking of you, Chika, Ikkaku and Yumichika. All of you made her happy."

"It's good to know," confessed Chika, putting a friendly arm around Kaya who was silently crying.

"I won't keep you," assured the large captain, "I just wanted to tell you, thank you. Thank you for being suck good friends to Tani, she was a treasure."

"I...it was hard no...not to be her fri...friend," choked out Kaya, her head on Chika's shoulder and her eyes glazed.

"That it was." With a sad smile, the captain walked away, making room for Ikkaku and Yumichika.

It was obvious from looking at him that Yumichika had been crying, though he would probably never admit it.

"How are you two holding up?" Ikkaku asked, looking down at his two friends. His eyes were dry but it was obvious that he was mournful.

"Are your injuries...?" Yumichika stopped talking, his throat clenching with tears.

Kaya stood slowly, holding her stomach and wincing when her muscles strained. When she was standing on her feet she moved around the table and hugged her handsome young friend. Since she was shorter than him her face ended up buried in his chest but the gesture still worked all the same.

Yumichika patted her shoulder before she drew back. She looked up at the two burly men, her eyes drooping as she leant into Yumichika.

"It's so exhausting, being injured," announced Kaya, her eyes closed, nearly falling asleep where she stood.

"Come on." Ikkaku put his hand on Kaya's arm. "I'll take you back to the Relief Station. Do you want to come, Chika?"

"No, I've been released," explained the young man as the red head moved over to their bald friend. "I'm staying in Squad Eight barracks again."

"Lucky," muttered Kaya, her head in Ikkaku's chest, her eyes closed again. She opened her eyes when she felt Ikkaku shift, signalling he was about to start walking. She followed his steps, waving to those she knew, even muttering a passing goodbye to her captain and lieutenant.

The air was bitterly chilly but Kaya didn't mention anything to Ikkaku, seeing as he was already doing so much for her. Instead she leant into him heavier, borrowing his body heat. They were comfortable in such a manner, having known each other for long enough. She wasn't oblivious to the fact that Ikkaku acted as though he had a crush on her, but she knew he's feelings were obscured.

They were halfway to the Relief Station when a dark shadow loomed over them. Ikkaku pulled Kaya closer to him, his hand going to his zanpakuto. They froze in their steps as the large figure moved towards them. Ikkaku pulled his katana out halfway, letting the metal flash in the moonlight.

"What yah plan'en to do with that?" growled the large man, stepping forward with a grin on his menacing face.

"Captain Zaraki," breathed Ikkaku, thankful that his friend wasn't in danger when already injured. "Why are you creeping up on us?"

"Need your 'elp," confessed the scared man, his sword sitting against his shoulder comfortably. "Old Fart won't let me go on a Hollow hunt by myself, so you're coming with. You won't slow me down or get in my way."

"I can't, Captain," started Ikkaku before his superior lowered his eyebrow, glaring at him with his one visible eye. The bald man drew his statement back, shooting Kaya a look for help. He knew that look from his captain, he knew he might end up on the end of Zaraki's sword if he didn't tread carefully.

"Now!" snapped the intimidating man.

"Urrr," hummed Ikkaku, his jaw slack.

"I...it's al...alr...alright," assured Kaya, moving out of her friend's hold. "I...I'm o...kay."

"You sure?" Ikkaku checked, though Zaraki had already grabbed his shoulder, dragging him away.

When the two Squad Eleven members were out of sight Kaya sighed and leant against the wall, feeling tired. She had been lying to her friend; it was not going to be easy for her to get to the Relief Station. Kaya walked for a few metres before she had to stop again. A combination of pain, pain killers and probably sake was making her fatigued. She pressed all her weight into the wall, her shoulder stinging slightly at the pressure. She rested her head against the cool cement. After a moment, Kaya lifted her head back up and slid down the wall until she was sitting on the ground. Her head lulled to the side as she straightened her legs out in front of her. She sighed and promised to only close her eyes for a moment.

_**I had to split this chapter before it became too long... wonder what will happen to Kaya...**_


	9. Knigth in a Dark Street

He couldn't believe how much paperwork there had been. He normally didn't let it build but he had been busy after the Bount attack so it had been left to sit and accumulate. As he walked he breathed in the cool night air, letting its clear scent calm him. It was as he rounded a corner that he spotted her.

He wouldn't have seen her if her pale legs didn't conflict with the dark night. Then he saw her red hair, falling over her peaceful face. He made his way over to her as quickly as possible before crouching down next to her and gently shaking her shoulder.

"Miss Hisagi," he spoke softly, "It's Lieutenant Kira, you have to wake up."

Instead of doing as he instructed she moved towards him, burying her face in his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"You're not going to wake up, are you?" he asked her, knowing he would not get an answer. He and Shuhei had gone on missions together and knew the older Hisagi didn't wake for anything short of an apocalypse. "Guess you're like your brother."

He moved her arms from his waist, putting them, instead, around his neck. He then slipped one arm under her legs, feeling the hem of her dress flutter against his arm, and the other behind her back. He lifted her with ease, carrying her in his arm like he would if they were just married. She felt small in his arms, not like when she was injured and bleeding to death. That time she had been limp in his arms, making the weight of the situation apparent. This time she was curled up, hugging him, her breaths hitting his neck softly, tickling the fine hairs that laid there. She didn't seem frightened in this state, she seemed at peace, comfortable.

When they were close to the Relief Station Kaya shifted, hugging Izuru tighter and brushing her lips against his neck, making him catch his breath. She had unknowingly caught the soft spot of his flesh. Ignoring the sensation he made his way through the Station, nodding to a few Squad Four members he knew from his time there.

It was as he placed Kaya down on her bed that she woke up. He eyes slowly opened as he pulled the blanket over her. She laid there for a moment before speaking, alerting him to her conscious presence.

"Where's Mr Bear?"

"Mr...?" he asked, confused at her question. He looked at her, noticing her glazed eyes. He wondered if she recognised him.

"Mr Bear," repeated Kaya. She waved her hand towards the bedside table.

He looked in the direction that she motioned, seeing the stuffed animal that he had bought her. He handed it to her, seeing her hug it to her. He then felt himself being pulled down into a hug. It was awkward, seeing as he was bent over with his arms either side of her to keep himself balanced.

Kaya raised herself up, making it more comfortable for Izuru. She engulfed him in a spicy scent, like pine. Her hair flowed in front of him, catching his eye with its dance. "Thank you for helping me. You're like a Knight without the shining armour." Her voice was weak from

He gently pushed Kaya's shoulder, getting her to lay down. When she was comfortably resting again, hugging Mr Bear, he turned to leave, stopping at the door to say farewell. "Good night, Miss Hisagi, rest well."

"You as well, Knight Kira."

He stopped from walking out the door, about to say something to Kaya at the realisation that she knew who he was but he then heard the soft breaths indicating she was asleep yet again. He turned and left with a small shake of his head.

He was working diligently through the paperwork he didn't finish the night before when his third seat started choking, a sweat breaking out on her forehead. He rushed to her side before realising that her dilemma stemmed from a high reiatsu that was heading towards the office.

He recognised the spiritual pressure, though he didn't know why it was being released in abundance. He was worried his friend was in pain or such but with the pace that he was heading in the direction of the office, he would find out soon. Turning to his third seat, he released her from her plight.

"Sakura, you can leave before Shuhei makes his entrance. I don't want you to pass out just because someone has angered him," he spoke softly, pulling the small woman to her feet. He was admittedly proud at how she was handled it. She had a tiny frame, smaller then Momo, and yet, she could withstand Shuhei when he was releasing all his spiritual-pressure. He would have to check her records to see if she was only of third seat ranking.

Sakura ran from the room, heading in the opposite direction to Shuhei. After she had left, Izuru sat behind his desk again and raised his spiritual pressure so that his friend's wasn't affecting him. It was moments later that Shuhei came barging in, making Izuru jump from the force he slammed the door open.

"Shuhei, are you okay?" he questioned, taking in his friend's appearance.

His eyes were wide, full of rage, his face was flushed and there was a light layer of perspiration that came from keeping his anger within himself. His reiatsu also showed the same, falling off of him in waves, and choking any clean air from the room.

"Am I okay?' he hissed, marching up to Izuru's desk and slamming his palms down onto the wooded surface, a glare on his face. "That's what you have to say? Am I OKAY?"

"I'm just worried about you," exclaimed the blond, standing up so Shuhei couldn't loom over him as much. He was still the taller of the two men, so no matter what, Izuru lost the 'higher' ground. "You barge in to my office, after nearly choking my third seat; of course I'm going to wonder what is the matter!"

"It's you!" yelled Shuhei, grabbing the front of Izuru's uniform and pulling him to him, so he was snarling in his face. "You're what is the matter with me!"

"What did I do?" yelped the younger man, trying to work the fabric of his clothing out of his friend's grip.

"Oh 'what did I do', he asks," yelled Shuhei, pushing Izuru back into his chair before pacing the office. "You're so good at the damn innocent act I never saw it coming. You come off as this shy, awkward guy, who would never take advantage of anyone, let alone an innocent girl, but it's a lie. You use that so that no one will be believed when they speak out."

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" screamed Izuru, trying to break his friend's tirade.

"Like you don't know," snapped Shuhei, turning to face him, his nasals flaring. "I'm talking about my sister!"

"What about Miss Hisagi?" Izuru was baffled. She had been fine when he returned her to the Relief Station the other night, maybe a little cold from sleeping outside but otherwise fine.

"How quickly he forgets," started Shuhei again, looking as though he was performing a monologue to one confused audience member.

"Is she alright?"

"She's fine, no thanks to you." He slammed his fist on the desk, the sound resinating though the room.

Izuru was certain the dark-haired man had hurt his hand but he refrained from saying so. Instead he said, "I didn't do anything."

"That's not what Lieutenant Iba says," yelled Shuhei, curling his hand into a fist. "He says he saw you last night, carrying a 'hot red-head' through the Seireitei and she looked pretty 'worn out from fun with you'! I asked Kaya and she said she saw you at the Relief Station. What the hell? You were my friend!"

Shuhei went to reach for his blade, only to feel cold metal pressed against his neck.

"Sakura," yelped Izuru, not liking that his third seat was challenging a lieutenant. She would be lucky to win.

"Lieutenant Kira, I have insured that all our low ranking officers have been removed from the facility of the high spiritual pressure. Lieutenant Hisagi, remove your hand from your zanpakuto or I will remove your hand from your body." She whispered the threat in such a demanding tone that it sent shivers of fear down both men's spins. There was no denying that this petite caramel blonde would do as she said without a moment's hesitation.

Shuhei slowly did as he was asked, glaring at Izuru the whole time as though he had put her up to it.

Sakura moved around so she was standing in front of Shuhei. "Please, do explain why you were about to draw your weapon on my superior." When the man didn't budge, a low growl came from the woman's throat. "Now!"

"He was taking advantage of my sister in her weakened state and for that I will kill him," snapped Shuhei, not taking his eyes away from Izuru, his own blue orbs filled with hate.

"I didn't do anything of the sort," stated Izuru, rising to his feet. "I found your sister in one of the many streets of the Seireitei, asleep. I tried to wake her but she is much like you in the way that she wouldn't. Instead of leaving her there to either freeze or be found by those who would not treat her kindly, I carried her back to the Relief Station, not only because it was the right thing to do, but because she is your sister!"

It was obvious Shuhei saw the sense but his glare hardened, not wanting to be conned. "What about what Iba said?"

"I suppose it would look a little strange, seeing me carrying a woman, but if he knew her situation, with her injury and the pain medication, he would probably came to a different conclusion," rationalised Izuru, not wishing to add that the man was also a little dense to anything other than his own life. He didn't want to speak ill of his comrade.

"Do you swear?" Shuhei finally asked.

"You're my friend, Shuhei, one of my best, even if I was one to do such a thing to woman, and I most certainly am not, I would never to your family." The blond male let his honesty show through his eyes and also signalled for his third seat to lower her sword, which she did reluctantly.

"Sorry," muttered the older man once he realised he was wrong. "But she's my little sister and..."

"There is no need to explain," cut in Izuru, smiling. "Thank you, Sakura, for coming to my defence, though it wasn't needed."

"At least the office isn't destroyed," reasoned the woman. "I didn't feel like putting in a request for repairs."

As she sheathed her zanpakuto, Izuru was struck with the reminder that she was much older than he. The way she moved and the way she had handled the situation showed years of wisdom. She had left to get others away, but came back, knowing she was needed without having any actual indication. Not only that, but she had known the friends had needed to talk through it without violence, hence she held Shuhei off. Izuru remembered Ichimaru joking on his first day that she was a cave woman whilst Yamamoto, Unahana, Kyoraku and Ukitake were dinosaurs but he never stopped to take note of just how old she was, for she was so light-hearted and free spirited.

"Yeah, that was one threatening voice," added Shuhei, rubbing his chin in thought. "You really had me thinking you'd do it."

"I would have," she confessed with no shame, making Shuhei look as though his stomach had dropped.

Izuru couldn't help but chuckled at his friend's expression. "Are we alright?"

"Yeah, we're fine, as long as you keep your third seat away from me."

"No promises," rebutted the blond male, making both Squad three members laugh at Shuhei's expense.


	10. Kidou

_**Sorry it's so short, and it took so long. My computer deleted the chapter when it seriously was almost done. I only had to read through it then it was to be posted. Sorry if Ikkaku's characterisation it off too.**_

Admittedly, she had a leg up entering the academy. She knew where all the training grounds where, as well as various other locations and she was able to study her brother's old text books. She knew a bit about all the subjects she had to learn and Captain Kyoraku and Nanao were willing to help her learn anything she had trouble with.

Scanning her surroundings, she spotted a group of individuals that looked to be Nobles, though two stood out. One wore a long, pink kimono, which looked as though it may have been a female's, and the other wore a dull coloured kosode that reached mid-thigh. Both men, like the Nobles, had real zanpukutos, unlike the younger students. She knew instantly that the two men were from Squad Eleven, sent to the academy to learn kidou since they had no real experience with it.

Thinking quickly, Kaya picked up a wooden practise sword and ran over to the group before the Squad Eleven members drew their zanpukutos. She hit the ring leader in the stomach with the butt of the sword before hitting his comrades either on the wrists or heads. It was a technique Nanao had taught her for dealing with disagreeable men. In only a few minutes, the Nobles walked away, nursing their injuries.

The bald man grumbled about not getting a descent fight before turning his harsh glare on the red-head before him.

Kaya stopped him from going off by starting on him first. "Wh...what do yo...you thi..nk you're do...do...doing? You w...will b...be...be kicked o...ut of th...th...the Guard Sq...uad if you fi...fi...fight!"

The fighter before her was stunned into silence, leaving room for his flamboyant friend to speak up. "Who are you?"

"Ka...Kaya Hisagi."

"Hisagi?" growled the hairless man. "The runt in Squad Nine that doesn't like to fight?"

"Th...that's my br...brother!" snapped Kaya, glaring at him, becoming angry. "Remember that, Mr. Shaved- Head Man."

'Mr. Shaved- Head Man' started laughing after a moment's pause. "You're not too bad. I'm Ikkaku Madarame, and this it Yumichika Ayasegawa" Ikkaku stopped as he patted his stomach. "Where can we get food?"

Kaya snorted with laughter before gesturing for them to follow her. 

She bit her lip to stop from giggling as Ikkaku scrunched up his face in concentration, only to realise a kiduo that fizzled and fell to the ground at his feet, not even leaving a scorch mark on the earth. Kaya tried not to look to cocky as she took aim and fired, hitting the target and only leaving the smallest amount behind. Ikkaku had used a shakkaho 5, with the spirit chant, whilst she had used a byakurai 19 without, which was much more difficult to get right.

The man beside her released a groan of frustration before turning to her with a tired expression. "What am I doing wrong now? I swear I said the chant right."

"Y...ou did!" assured the red-head. She walked over to him, so she was facing his side. "You ne...need to draw yo...your rei...reiatsu up fr...from your di...diaphragm," she explained as she ran her hands up his chest and back, along his arms, which were still outstretched towards the target. "It th...then travels thr...through your a...arms."

Ikkaku took a deep breath and then followed her instructions, succeeding in destroying the target. He then looked down at Kaya with a giant smile on his face. "It worked! I told Yumichika I wasn't completely useless."

Kaya laughed. The two had a good balance going. Ikkaku was easily superior in hand-to-hand and sword play, but Kaya had already mastered kidou and shunpo, so they taught each other, and helped each other through the classes. She had not talk Ikkaku of Yumichika's natural ability with kidou, seeing as the man didn't want his friend knowing, seeing as he seemed to find it a disgrace. Though he had never treated Kaya negatively because of her gift towards the 'softer' side of combat.

"Le...let's go f...f...find Yumi!" Kaya declared in a chipper voice, shortening their friend's name so it was easier for her to say.

Sighing, Ikkaku nodded, taking her hand and leading her in the direction he knew their friend to be. He ignored her blushing as he marched them across the grounds, pulling Kaya behind him slightly more forcefully then he realised.

Yumichika was talking to a woman about how she could improve her look, but on seeing his friends, he waved off the eager girl and smiled at the two.

"Hello, you two," he greeted with a cheeky smile. "How was the extra kidou _training_?"

"I still suck," admitted Ikkaku without shame as he shrugged. "It's not Kaya's fault, she's an excellent teacher."

Kaya blushed heavily at the complement before letting her deep red hair curtain in front of her face, hiding the tinge to her cheeks, which were almost as dark as her hair. "Yo...u're n...ot th...that bad."

"And your stutter gets worse when your embarrassed," teased Yumichika, flicking a piece of hair out of her face.


	11. Blonde

Her muscles burned as she forced them to move against their will. She lifted her sword, which she had only had for a year and a half, and faced the snarling, fake Hollow. The first class, year three, were taken to the World of the Living to fight fake Hollows. There were some real Hollows lurking about, making it more challenging for the students never know if they can survive losing the battle.

They had been out in a rundown field, which had kidou barriers around it, for three days, bridging on their fourth. Kaya had barely slept and had defeated more Hollows then she could count. She now could tell the subdual differences between fake Hollows and real ones. Unfortunately it came with hunger and exhaustion. She didn't think she could continue for much longer. Thankfully, they were allowed to go home once the last Hollow was killed, which should be soon.

She pierced the mask of the false Hollow only to turn and find a real one growling at her. The real one was large, easily dwarfing her. Her limbs shook violently as she raised _Kuro Zetsumei_ and released it. Her shikai wasn't powerful enough to paralyse her opponent, but it made them hesitate in their movements. There was no way for her to win this battle, for as she stood, injured and weak, four more real Hollows surrounded her. As she was preparing for what she believed to be her last battle, which was depressing seeing as she hadn't even finished the academy, Ikkaku and Yumichika came out of nowhere and stood with their backs to Kaya and each other.

"We're here, Rosie," assured Yumichika, glaring at the Hollow in front of him.

The three assessed the situation for only a moment before charging at the Hollows, defending each other from fatal blows when they could. They were pushed back into their circle, their backs to each other. They were all tired and straining under the pressure of the three Hollows left. They were much more powerful than even Ikkaku and Yumichika had versed. As all three Hollows went to strike, Kaya acted on instinct and brought her zanpakuto up to guard herself, the blade horizontal. As she did this, she spoke, "protect the heart, _Kuro Zetsumei_." Upon the words leaving her lips, a golden shield shot from her sword and pulsed outward, desecrating the remaining Hollows and leaving a calming, loving atmosphere behind.

The two Squad Eleven members turned to gap at their young friend, who blushed profusely.

"Kuro Zetsumei t...t...told me to...to," she stammered, her eyes wide and innocent.

Both boys smiled widely, Ikkaku going so far as to cheer and pick her up, spinning her around. From a distance, they heard a horn go off, signalling that their training session was over. "That was amazing," declared Ikkaku, smiling down at the blushing girl.

Kaya blushed deeper and looked down at her feet. "Th...th...thanks." 

The trees seemed to loom over the young figure as she laid on the ground comfortable. The texture of the trunks, the movement of the leaves, they were all enhanced from her advantage point. Mixing with the sound of the branches rattling was her soft humming, that could not be heard by the closest person, who was three meters away. As she kicked her feet childishly, a shadow fell over her. Craning her neck around, she spotted her friend, standing uncomfortable to the side.

"Ikkaku," she chirped before a piece of a leaf fell on her nose, making her wiggle it.

"Um..." the man trailed off before starting again. "Well... I... um..."

"I...isn't it m...m...y job to st...utter?" joked Kaya, flipping onto her stomach. She looked up at him with wide eyes, her hair falling to one side.

Ikkaku chuckled, feeling his anxiety leave him somewhat. "You're a fan of Annacide, right?" He watched as Kaya raised a mocking eyebrow. "Okay, giant fan. Well, I bought two tickets to their concert, and I thought you might like to go with me..."

Kaya squealed and jumped to her feet, only to tackle Ikkaku off of his. "Thank you!"

"As a date," Ikkaku finished in a rush, worried she would change her mind.

The red-head sat up sharply, kneeling beside her friend's hip. She looked surprised as she studied his face for any signs of joking or relenting. For a moment it seemed as though she would reject him before she slowly nodded. "As long as we can still be friends if it goes wrong."

"Yeah, of course," assured Ikkaku before scratching his head. "The only problem is that Yumichika has a ticket too. He bought it himself though."

Kaya shrugged calmly as she sat back. "Th...that's okay. As l...long as he st...st...stops saying I sh...ould be blonde." She stretched out on the grass with a lazy yawn and started drifting to sleep right in front of him. 

Kaya opened her eyes to see a face swim into view. It was extremely close to hers, making her respond in only one way. By screaming. The person owning the face scrambled back in surprise, allowing the red-head to sit up. Except when she did sit up, she noticed blonde strands over her shoulder. Clutching them in her fist, she screamed again.

"Rose Petal, stop screaming!" demanded the person who had been invading Kaya's personal space. "And you were right, blonde doesn't suit you."

Looking over, she saw that it was Yumichika, which made sense, seeing as he had been trying to turn her blonde for almost a month. She then turned her gaze back to her once red locks in horror. Glaring at her friend, she started yelling. "How dare you? I told you I didn't want my hair dyed and you did it anyway. Yumichika, I can't believe you!"

"Yo...you didn't stutter," gasped Ikkaku, who had run up when he had heard his friend scream.

"Of course I didn't!" screamed the young girl, jumping to her feet. "Yumichika, you better run damn fast." Kaya brought her hands together and fired a kidou at the flamboyant man as he ran off. She calmed down slightly when Ikkaku stepped in front of her, seeing as she did not wish to hurt him.

_**Sorry for another 'in the past' chapter but Izuru will be in the next chapter.**_


	12. Annacide

She looked one more time at her reflection before grimacing. She honestly did not approve. Since she and her brother had never had money growing up, he had decided to buy her something expensive for her birthday. Unfortunately, Shuhei had no clue what his sister, or females in general liked, so he asked one of his friends, a woman by the name Rangiku, to go shopping for something for Kaya to wear to the concert. She had clearly been working under the impression that Kaya had her brother's hair colour and personality, for she came back with a daring hot pink dress that if Yumichika had not dyed Kaya's hair, would clash horridly with the flame red it usually was. The dress was not that low cut, but was a cowl neck which meant that if Kaya was to bend forward, one could easily see down her top, since it fell forward to reveal all. The straps were an inch thick and covered in clear rhinestones. The dress hugged her body, with a small amount of roughly at her stomach to hide her modest tummy. Although Kaya was uncomfortable wearing something that showed her form, it was more the fact that the dress stopped mid-thigh that had the young woman tugging at the fabric.

She was certain that her brother had not seen the dress before his friend bought and wrapped it for he would never let her out of the house in such attire, not that she would try to leave in it. The thought of Ikkaku's face if she was to meet him wearing the dress made her blush with embarrassment and walk over to her dresser. It was certainly not her style. Digging through, she pulled out a pair of wrinkled black tights. She frowned for a moment, trying to remember where they came from before the memory of Nanao buying them only to discover they were too big came to mind. Instead of taking them back, she simply gave them to Kaya. Planning to thank her mentor the next time she saw her, Kaya pulled them on, jumping around to get them to sit properly. When she was done, she looked in the mirror again. That was a lot better, though the fit still made her twitch.

However, she had nothing else to wear and she had to meet her friend in twenty minutes. Kaya pulled her boots out of the cupboard and fell on her behind, since they had been buried under her full school bag which she had chucked in there after coming home for the weekend. She came home every weekend to be with her brother. During the week she stayed in her dormitory and Shuhei stayed in his barracks.

As she sat on her bed and put her boots on, she couldn't help but wince. Her neckline had fallen forward and she could clearly see her bra. Once her boots were secured on her feet, she put on a jacket, buttoning it up to stop the neckline problem.

Not daring to look in the mirror again, Kaya walked out her bedroom door and into the living room where her brother was sitting, finishing paperwork. He took one look at his sister before he leaped up and started yelling.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE WEARING? YOU CAN'T LEAVE THE HOUSE LIKE THAT!"

"I...m wearing what yo...your friend bought m...e," explained Kaya calmly. "I a...added the t...tights to m...m...make it be...tter."

At this Shuhei started tearing up. "You're all grown up, and a lady now." Tears streamed rapidly from his blue eyes, making Kaya roll hers. "You're so mature and responsible. You've grown up far too quickly."

Kaya sighed, slightly annoyed at her brother's behaviour, since she was in a hurry. "You've b...een drinking again, haven't you?"

"And you barely stutter."

"I'm annoyed," informed Kaya before taking Shuhei's sake away, taking a swig herself. Being around Kyoraku was teaching her bad habits. "I ha...have to go m...meet Ikkie." She called Ikkaku and Yumichika Ikkie and Yumie so that her brother would not become over protective of his sister spending time with men from Squad Eleven, since he had not worked out whom Ikkie and Yumie were.

"Why only one?" Shuhei questioned before the answer dawned on him. "YOU'RE GOING ON A DATE?"

Kaya sighed, the awkward feeling in her stomach appearing again. Something didn't feel right, and she had an inkling that it had to do with Ikkaku and date being in the same context. They were good friends and he was dear to her but she was not certain they were meant for romance. However, she would give it a try for him. "I... I... I have t...o go." She shunpoed out of the house, being highly thankful that she was faster than her brother. 

She found Ikkaku waiting for her on the hill, close to where the concert was, but also, out of the crowd that was gathering. He smiled when he saw her but turned red when he took in her attire. Kaya just laughed, the sake having make her relaxed.

"My hair used to be that colour," she joked, pointing to his face.

His face turned back to normal as he chuckled at her. "Ready?"

"Of course!"

Ikkaku took her hand and jogged down the hill, towards the line, pulling her along with them. Once they were in line, the third seat pulled two tickets out of this pocket, handing one to Kaya. The line moved slowly and there was little talk between the two friends. The conversations they tried to start ended rather short-lived and was forced.

After they had handed their tickets to the ticket guard, and he ripped off the tab on the side, handing it back, they went in. They were up on the grass, just behind the pit, where the drink and food stands were. They stood off to the side of the entrance, wondering what they should do first, since the opening band had not even appeared on stage yet.

"Do you w...want a dr...ink?" Kaya asked, having decided she was going to get one herself.

"Yeah, I'll go get some," offered Ikakku before he brushed passed her, towards the sake stand.

The newly blonde stood there awkwardly before she felt arms slip around her waist and lift her up. "PUT ME DOWN!" she yelped as laughter rang in her ear.

"Why should I, Rosy?" Yumichika asked as he hugged her to him, her feet barely scraping the ground.

"Yumi!" she scolded, making him finally release her. She turned to the man behind her, to find him wearing clothing in pristine condition and suiting him perfectly.

"Nice outfit, Rosy, I almost didn't recognise you," he complemented before waving to his other friend over Kaya's head. "Ikkaku, do you not have one for me?"

"No," Ikkaku replied shortly, handing a cup of sake to Kaya. "How long have you been here?"

"Not long," assured the flamboyant man. "I was standing over there with Renji and one of his friends, I think his name was Ira Kizu, or something." He pointed not too far away from them, where the grass area wrapped around towards the food stands, which were a short distance from the drink stands.

"Do you want t...to go over there?" Kaya asked, sipping her beverage.

"Arrr, sure," answered Ikkaku, taking Kaya's hand and letting Yumichika lead them over to his spot.

"I still find it odd that your stammering disappears when you are drinking or angry," commented the dark haired man as they walked.

"Master Ikkaku," someone yelled, waving frantically to get his attention.

Since they were already drawing near, Ikkaku simply nodded, waiting until they were closer before replying. "Renji, how are you?"

"I'm good, thanks." He then seemed to remember the blond that was standing next to him. "Oh, this is my friend, Iz..."

"You're from Squad Four, aren't you?" cut in Ikkaku, sizing up the blond.

"Yes I am," the man answered in a strong but gentle tone.

"Congratulations," Kaya said with a smile. "You're not a meat head like the rest of these blokes. You can call me Rose." She stuck out her hand to shake his.

As he took it, he smiled widely, cupping his other hand over hers in a gentlemanly manner. "I'm Izuru Kira."

Unfortunately the opening band had just announce their arrival, making the crowd around them cheer loudly. Kaya frowned, wondering if she had heard right. "Icado kidna?"

"Izuru Kira," he tried again, louder this time, his hand still in hers.

Kaya simply shook her head, showing she didn't catch that one either. She gasped when the man suddenly tugged her arm, pulling her to him gently.

"Call me Uru," he said in her ear, loud enough for her to hear.

She blushed as she nodded and stepped away from him. He was a handsome man, and truthfully, if looks meant everything to Kaya, she could go with Uru over Ikkaku, seeing as he had more appeal to her. Thankfully for her friend, it was personality that meant everything, and she did not know Uru's at all.

She looked over at her date, who was standing next to their friend. Ikkaku was frowning at Uru as Yumichika watched the band. Deciding not to say anything about Ikkaku's mood, she went and stood next to him and watch the band play. The opening band wasn't that amazing in Kaya's opinion, but the second was one of her favourites, however, she wanted to see the main attraction the most.

During the second band, Kaya informed Ikkaku and Yumichika that she was going to get something to eat. As she walked off, she felt a hand touch her shoulder, looking up, she discovered it was Uru, his blue eyes shining down at her.

"Are you going for food?" he asked in her ear, the only way they could hear each other. At her nod, he smiled. "Can I come?" Again, she nodded and he smiled.

They walked in silence until they reached the food stands, where it was quieter. They both decided what they wanted and lined up. They lines were long though, and there was not much else to do then to talk.

"What Squad are you in?" Uru questioned, standing behind Kaya.

Kaya turned so she could see Uru before she replied. "Squad Eight. Captain Kyoraku has wanted me in his Squad since I was five."

"Isn't that the party squad?" joked the man, bending to bring his face closer to her face.

"What do you think?" she replied, holding her new and ninth cup of sake up. As though for extra proof she took a large gulp.

"I may have to keep an eye on you," Uru laughed, moving back to his original height.

Kaya felt in a daring and slightly teasing mood, so she played along. "Do you promise?"

Uru sobered up for a moment. "I don't know if your boyfriend would like that."

"Ikkaku isn't my boyfriend, we're just on a date to see how it goes," explained Kaya before she got to the head of the line. Once she had her food, she waited for Uru before they headed back to their friends.

Ikkaku kissed Kaya's forehead, making her squirm uncomfortable. She didn't show it though as she ate. They weren't talking much, which was unusual for them and instead, Ikkaku was talking to Yumichika. By the time the last band had started, the boys were whispering to each other, though Kaya didn't know what it was about. Instead of dwelling, she decided to focus on enjoying herself. She found herself dancing to her favourite songs and she could hear Uru laugh before she grabbed his hand, forcing him to dance, much to Renji's amusement.

When the lead singer announced that Kaya's favourite song would be on after their next one, she felt a hand on her smaller back. Looking over, she saw Ikkaku with a large smile on his face.

"Come with me," he said, pulling her hand softly. He led her to the fence that separated the pit from the grass, seeing as the tickets for the pit cost more. Sneaking off to the side in a crouch, he showed her a hole in the fence that was easily to miss, for one would have to pull the wire back. "Don't tell Yumichika, he will just get jealous." He pulled the wire back for Kaya to scramble through before he followed. "I thought you might want to be close to the stage when they play your favourite song."

Kaya smiled widely, trying not to jump out of excitement. "Yes!"

"Good."

The thong of people was thick, and Kaya would never have been able to push through them all by herself. Thankfully, all Ikkaku had to do was put on his menacing, bloodthirsty smile and everyone parted for him. They ended up right at the front, the fence pushing against their stomachs. By the time they made it down to the stage, the song was reaching its end, meaning they would be starting Kaya's favourite in a matter of moments.

When they started, the young woman gave a squeal of happiness, feeling Ikkaku's shoulders shake with laugher next to her. She simply gave him a mock glare in return, scrunching up her nose. This action only made him laugh harder. He slipped his arm around her waist, his hands clasped in front of her belly button. His act was in a friendly manner, since it prevented men from grabbing her behind, which they had been attempting to do since the two friends appeared in the front row.

Kaya smiled over her shoulder at her friend in thanks before the band started up, making the temporary blonde cheer. She felt Ikkaku take her waist when she started to sway. It was only after he did that that she realised he may have become uncomfortable with her actions. She decided not to think on it, and instead, enjoy the song. Being so close to the stage, so close she could see the green of the singer's eyes, sent a rush through her body. She knew this event was going to be committed to her memory for the rest of her life.

Once the song was over, they snuck back under the fence, not wanting to be spotted by the security guards. They found the others where they left them. They did seem to have noticed that the two had disappeared. For the rest of the night, Kaya stayed with her two friends, and the two other shinigami, singing the songs of Annacide at the top of her lungs.

By the time the concert had ended, Kaya had a large, bright smile on her face. She was led out by Ikkaku after waiting for the crowd to disperse. She yelled goodbye to Yumichika, Renji and Uru as she watched them retreat to the barracks. Ikkaku was, of course, going to walk her home. Kaya yawned as they walked through the streets, their footsteps laboured because of fatigue.

Ikkaku made a noise as though he wished to speak, only to change his mind. After a few minutes, he opened his mouth to try again. "Did you have fun?"

Kaya smiled, looking over at her friend as they kept walking. "Ye...ah, it...it was a...amazing."

The man nodded thoughtfully before sighed and dropping his head. "This doesn't work, does it?" When the red-head, turned blonde, didn't speak, he went on. "We acted like friends and that's all. We don't work, do we?"

Kaya hesitated before drawing her lips in nervously. "N...o, we d...don't."

"But we're still friends?" clarified the shinigami.

"Of course," yelped Kaya.

Ikkaku nodded his head, the moon creating a glint off his hairless skin. "Good." He stopped in front of Kaya's front door. "I'll see you at school. You still have to help me with my kido training."

"S...ee you th...th...then," she assured before giving him one last smile and walking in side. She felt his reiatsu leave quickly as he shunpoed away. Kaya dropped her keys in the bowl next to the door and twisted the lock on the door. After that, she walked deeper into her home, only to find her brother sitting in the living room. "Shuie, wh...wh...what's wrong?"

"What took you so long?" snapped her brother, getting to his feet and running to her. "You should have been home hours ago!"

"Th...the concert en..ded tw...twenty minutes a...a...ago," Kaya tried to explain to her distrough brother.

"HAS THAT STRAP MOVED?" he yelped, ignoring his sister's words. He pointed at the strap of Kaya's dress. "WHY HAS THAT STRAP MOVED? THAT STRAP SHOULD NOT HAVE MOVED!"

"I w...was d...anc...ing," stammered Kaya, her eyes wide.

"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN!" roared her brother, flailing his arms.

Kaya flinched away before tears pooled in her eyes. "I...it was a...a... con...cert. no...noth...ing ha...happ...happened." With that, she ran to her room.

Shuhei followed, realising he had frightened her. He opened her door seconds after she had slammed it. "Kaya, I'm sorry," he whispered, walking towards his sister, who laid on her bed. "I just worry."

"You do...don't ne...ed to," mumbled Kaya, looking up at her brother with tear streaks running down her face. "W...e were w...w...with your fr...fr...friend, Renji."

"That doesn't help," explained the man. "I'm going to worry about you no matter what. Just, don't take my ranting to heart."

"Okay," whispered the younger Hisagi.

"Okay." Shuhei grinned before squeezing his sister's shoulder. "I'll let you get changed and go to sleep."

_**No one probably realised but Annacide is Anime Suicide... Blame my fiancée for the name. He came up with it as a joke. R and R if you wish, and sorry it took so long but I wanted it perfect.**_


	13. Sleeping with a Dark Death

Her hand held the railing of the bed until her knuckles turned white as her whole form shook. She reached down, attempting to reach her bear that had fallen to the ground. Unfortunately, she could not bend that far because of the pain that racked her body. As she gave a cry of pain, a hand came down and easily picked up the toy, handing it to Kaya, who hugged it to her sore stomach.

Straightening up slowly, she saw Chika standing next to her, giving her a sad smile. "I've got you, Kaya," he assured, slowly prying her hand from the railing. He then gave her one of the pain killers from the bedside table and helped her take it with water. "I'm going to take you home," he explained as he gave Kaya her pain killers to put in her pocket before grabbing the two bunches of flowers, one from Captain Kyoraku and the other from her brother, as well as the picture of Yumichika. He took her hand and started leading her from the Relief station.

Kaya allowed Chika to control the conversation, since she was far too tired to do more then walk. She was extremely thankful Chika knew where her house was for the painkillers stopped her from thinking of the directions. As Chika recounted Nanao yelling at Captain Kyoraku, they heard a rush of people.

Turing around, they spotted a large band of squad eleven, rampaging down the corridor. They were not going to stop for two injured squad eight members and there was nowhere to hide, so Kaya and Chika were forced to run. They eventually lost the unruly men by turning a corner and praying that was not the way they were going.

Kaya fell against the wall, her stomach muscles spasming painfully from her involuntary exercise. Tears welled in her brown eyes as she choked back a sob. The pain seemed unbearable to her and she found herself clenching her hands, digging her nails into her thigh.

At the hand on her shoulder, she opened her eyes, only to meet the blue of her brother's. She instantly wrapped her arms around his neck, accidently digging her nails into his back, drawing blood through his uniform. "It hurts," she mumbled, her voice filled with pain.

"I know, sweetie, I know," Shuhei assured in a soothing voice, rubbing her back. He looked over at Chika with a frown. "I'll look after her from here." He didn't wait for an answer before scooping Kaya into his arms, taking her belongings from Chika before flash stepping to their house.

The moment they arrived home, he placed his sister on her bed, pulling the blanket over her. Shuhei watched helplessly as his sister curled up into a ball, whimpering in pain. He was fearful of turning on the light since the grey shadows obscured Kaya's tear soaked face from his view. He had no idea what he could do to help her. He knew she couldn't have any more painkillers; he knew no healing kidoes and didn't have a clue as to what else to do.

Whenever she was sick, he would hug her to him, stroke her back and let her drift off to sleep but that didn't seem to work in this case since she had curled herself up, preventing him from hugging her. Even stroking her back was difficult seeing as he could feel her muscles tense under his hand. Sighing, he kissed her forehead and moved from the room, not being able to watch her pain if he could not help her.

He went into the kitchen and restrained himself from punching something as he made Kaya a hot chocolate. When he returned to her room, he found her sparming less. Sitting the cup down on the bedside table, Shuhei put his hand on her shoulder. "I made you a hot chocolate, Kaya-chan, but wait until it cools," he spoke, using her old nickname from him. He waited until she nodded before leaving the room.

For the next three hours he tried to get Kaya to sleep whilst pacing the living-room whenever he wasn't checking on her. He felt helpless, useless and a waste of space. There was nothing he could do to help his little sister and he had never been in such a position. He had raised her and even at ten years old he was still able to do a decent job.

A scold came over his face at the heavy banging on the door. He had just made Kaya fall asleep with a little help from a kidou and now someone seemed determined to wake her up. Wrenching the door open, he was met with the startled face of Izuru, who had his fist raised to bang on the door again.

After a moment of bewilderment, he started talking quickly, urgently. "They need you at the barracks! A fight broke out and two squad nine members are injured."

Shuhei looked stunned before his friend's words registered in his mind. He went to run out the door but stopped after one step. "I can't. Kaya is here, asleep, and I need to look after her and cook her dinner."

"But you're the only one who can go." The blond sighed, clearly tired from his own long day of work. He studied the reluctant look that crossed his friend's face before coming to an idea. "How about I stay here whilst you deal with the issues? You know I can cook and she's asleep so nothing is going to go wrong before you return."

With a noise of reluctance Shuhei ran from the room, leaving Izuru in the doorway. With a shrug, the melancholy man walked further into the house, closing the front door behind him. He walked to the door of Kaya's bedroom, the door that was always closed whenever he came to the Hisagi house. The door was open this time and he could clearly see the young woman curled up, her arms tightly wrapped around the stuffed bear he had bought her.

He felt a wave of fatigue hit him as he lumbered over to the couch. He hadn't slept for a long time, seeing as he had a lot of work to deal with for his own squad. Izuru closed his eyes, hoping to sleep for twenty minutes before waking to make Kaya dinner. The moment he let the dream world take him, he was forced into a dark place.

_The room was dark, the only source of light being on him. The darkness was broken only by the blood red rose petals that fell all around, except for in his spot light. He felt his arm being pulled up before he looked up to see what had done such a thing. Above him, looking into the box in which he stood, was a large Ichimaru. He grinned widely as he tilted a device in his hand, which caused Izuru to kick his foot out. That was when the blond realised that there were strings attached to his arms and legs, and the devise in his ex-captain's hands allowed the traitor to control everything Izuru did. _

_He felt helpless as he saw Rangiku walked towards him, her usual happy smile in place. He felt himself reach of Wabiska but could not stop it as Ichimaru grinned with glee. "Rangiku, help me! He's controlling me."_

_The woman tilted her head to one side. "So? You always need someone to tell you what to do. You can't take charge of anything."_

_As Izuru felt a wave of shock and pain over come him, he attacked Rangiku against his will, making her draw her zanpukato in defence. He quickly defeated her, leaving her laying on the ground in a pool of her own blood but just as he thought it was all over, he was facing Renji and Shuhei. _

_Both of them together should have easily over powered him, but Ichimaru manoeuvred him so that he had the upper hand and they could not exploit any weaknesses. He could never dream of fighting in such a way if he was in control of his own body._

_He watched helplessly as his two closest friends were slain by his sword and his hand, but not his will. Izuru sensed a presence behind him, but before Ichimaru could turn him around, he heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed and swung through the air, saw a flash of silver as it hit his spot light before he tumbled to the ground. His strings had been cut, but now he could not move. He could only sit in his crumbled form and stare at the ground. _

_A hand touched his shoulder, being life into his unco-operating limbs. He stood slowly, worried his body would be taken hostage once again. As he rose, the red rose petals that had fallen on him as he was immobilized fell to the ground, looking like a waterfall of blood. _

_Once on his feet, he looked at the person who had touched him, only to find Kaya standing before him._

"_Miss Hisagi?" He quickly looked around for her brother, hoping that his friends were merely injured instead of dead. They were nowhere in sight and Kaya kept shaking his shoulder gently, frowning at his lack of response. "What is the matter?"_

_She did not answer, and instead made a small, whining noise of annoyance, shaking his shoulder a little more forcefully, as though to wake him._

"_What is it you want?" he asked again, worried he was missing something._

_Kaya poked him hard in the chest._

With a start, he woke, finding the red-head standing before him sleepily; her finger poised to poke him again if he had not awaked. When she realised he was conscious, she sat down beside him, cuddling into him.

He quickly realised that in her sleepy state, which he had an odd feeling came from a kidou Shuhei did not perform properly, she thought he was her brother. He shifted in discomfort as she curled into his side, using his shoulder as a pillow as she placed her bear in the croak of her arm. It wasn't that she was sitting in a way that made him uncomfortable, her elbow wasn't digging into his ribs like when Rangiku drunkenly uses him as a pillow, her head wasn't resting on his collarbone like the times he would comfort Momo when she cried and truth be told, he rather liked having the curvy female in his arms, she had a huggable form. It was the fact that she was Kaya Hisagi and she thought he was Shuhei Hisagi. He saw Shuhei like a brother; therefore, Kaya was like a sister.

With that firmly in his mind, he jumped up, making sure not to jolt Kaya too much. She looked at him in confusion before Izuru started talking. "Miss Hisagi, your brother had to deal with a problem in his squad and so I'm looking after you. I'll... I'll just start making dinner."

Kaya had a look of understanding come across her face before Izuru retreated into the kitchen, letting her nap on the couch.

_**My lovely computer decided to delete the start of the chapter so I had to cobble the start from my memory and parts I had wrote on paper. I hope you liked the dream sequence; I was kind of worried I didn't get my point across though. R and R if you wish. I do like reviews.**_


	14. Cooking

Kaya stumbled into the kitchen, listening to her stomach grumble impatiently. She started raiding cupboards as Izuru stood at the sink, peeling vegetables. He looked over his shoulder at the shorter shinigami. He could hear her stomach begging for food as she started making a jam sandwich. Once it was made she jumped up onto the bench with one hand, staring at Izuru silently as he finished peeling a potato.

He looked over at her, wondering why she was just sitting there watching him. That's when he noticed something different about her then Shuhei. Rangiku had often commented about how Shuhei ate sandwiches, she always asked if he had a grudge against it for her would sink his teeth violently into the bread, forcing the chunk to leave the mass. Kaya was different for she didn't seem to use her teeth at all. She put the bread in her mouth and then applied enough pressure with her lips to tear the bread when she moved her hand away.

Izuru found himself staring in confusion at the way she ate, only to find her still watching him. She tilted her head to the side as she took another light bite of her sandwich.

"Wh…why are y…y…ou here?" she asked, her voice soft and weak.

Izuru blushed, turning back to what he had been doing so that his fringe hid his face. "Your brother was needed in the barracks but he didn't want to leave you by yourself with no dinner so I offered to look after you and cook dinner."

Kaya smiled before that smile grew into a grin and then she started chuckling. She probably would have laughed harder if it wasn't for her injured stomach. When the lieutenant looked at her with confusion she explained. "I d…on't eat Shui's f…f…food. It's gr…oss. Cap…tian cooks f…or me. He had sq…sq…squad 12 make a… a container to st…store a w…weeks worth. You don't ne…ed to cook."

Izuru laughed. He knew Shuhei was a horrible cook but he thought that Kaya liked his cooking, what with growing up with him. However, it seemed that Kaya simply never had the heart to tell him. The blond smiled at Kaya as he moved the vegetables from the sink to the chopping board. He noticed the red head shift to be able to see what he was doing.

"Why does your captain cook your dinners?" He asked, getting a knife out of the draw.

"Can't cook," Kaya confessed, finishing her sandwich.

Izuru frowned, turning around to face the young Hisagi. "That's no excuse," he said, watching the girl tilt her head to the side in confusion. "I'll teach you."

Kaya looked down, realizing that she would have trouble getting off the bench with her stomach the way it is. However, she didn't have to worry, for Izuru walked over to her.

When she shied away from him, he gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, you're not heavy." He put his hands on her hips, letting her grasp his shoulders before he lifted her off the counter with ease. He then led her over to stand next to him in front of the chopping board. "First you have to cut the ends off of most of the vegetables, like the carrots." He pulled one of the carrots to the centre of the chopping board, doing as he had said. "Then, you slice it length ways, take one half, cut it in half again, then chop it width ways." He showed her up until the chopping part, in which he handed her the knife. "You can do that whilst I start cooking the meat, okay?"

Kaya nodded, starting to take over. She was halfway through chopping the first half of the carrot when a hand came to sit on her to stop her. She looked up in surprise at Izuru, since it was his hand.

"You need to cut them a bit bigger," he explained, gripping the knife and letting Kaya slide hers out. He demonstrated to her before smiling down at the shorter shinigami. He handed the knife back, watching what Kaya was doing since the meat was now simmering in a think sauce he added. "You're doing well. Cooking isn't hard, once you know the basics."

"How d…did you learn?"

"To cook?" Izuru clarified, getting a nod of the girl. A nostalgic smile came across his face. "Everyone thinks that because I am a noble that I had servants to wait on me, but truthfully, my parents and I never cared for all that and my father would never allow it. He loved to cook and didn't like the idea of letting someone else do it. He was the one who taught me. Once a week it was my duty to cook and he would just supervise, which was his way of saying stand there and talk to me, help out when needed. Kind of like what I'm doing now. What about Shuhei? Where did he learn his sorry excuse for cooking?"

Kaya started on the other vegetables before answering. "W…we used to e…at any…anything we could g…et b…b…before he j…joined the academy. W…when at the a…cad…cad…emy we ate i…in the food hall. When Shuie g…graduated he st…arted cooking. The f…f…first thing we did w…as take the c…c…contents of our cupboards a…nd put it on a d…dough base." She started laughing, making Izuru chuckle, imagining the two Hisagis doing as Kaya described when she was younger. "I….it tasted h…h…horrible but w…e ate it all. Shuie was so…so proud."

Izuru smiled at how Kaya said 'Shuie' since the last syllable sounded like a little puppy with hiccups for she used a light, slightly squeaky voice.

"He still does that, in a way,' laughed Izuru. "Puts anything in the meal and thinks it works."

"H…e has n…n…no sense of sm…ell," Kaya explained, finishing chopping the vegetables. "Now w….w…what?"

"Now," Izuru explained, scooping up the assortment of pieces, "We put them in the sauce and stir them in."

He dropped the vegetables into the pit before handing Kaya the spoon to stir it all. Izuru quietly watched her do it before noticing that she was humming something. It was a song from Annacide. He was a fan of them, and had been since in the academy. He had even went to a concert with Renji… where he met a girl in squad eight who was friends with Ikkaku and Yumichika. He shook his head. There was no way Rose was Kaya, since for one, their names were different, and so was their hair. Not to mention Rose didn't stutter and he was fairly certain she was flirting with him at one point, which he could not imagine Kaya ever doing.

The red head put the spoon down after banging as much of the sauce off as possible on the rim of the pot. She then rubbed her eye, the one with the three small black star tattoos. "I…m going t…to lay down."

"Alright, I'll call you in when it's done. I'm going to put some rice on to cook when the meats nearly done." Izuru waited until Kaya had nodded and walked out of the room before he turned back to the cooking. He decided to stay in the kitchen instead of going into the lounge room where Kaya was.

Her actions when he woke up had frazzled him. He understood that she was confused because of her brother's horrible kidou but he was worried if Kaya remembered. He also couldn't shake the thought that had crossed his mind that Rose and Kaya were the same girl. He had liked spending time with Rose at the concert but he had not seen her since.

When the food was done, he called Kaya into the room to try the food they had both prepared. Izuru spooned some of the stew out of the pot, holding it for Kaya to try, holding his hand under the spoon encase it was to drip. She looked unsure, making the lieutenant laugh. "It's safe, I promise. But it may be hot."

She blew on the food before opening her mouth, letting Izuru feed her the substance. A small amount of sauce fell onto her chin, instead of Izuru's hand, which sat just below, his fingers under Kaya's chin. The blond wiped it away with his thumb as Kaya made a noise as though she liked the food.

Izuru put the side of his thumb in his mouth, getting the sauce off as Kaya opened her mouth to say something.

"Kaya, Izuru."

The two looked over to find Shuhei frowning at them.

"Shuie," Kaya said with glee. "Lie…lie…lieutenant Kira c..an cook! It's yummy."

Izuru smiled bashfully, a light blush taking over his face. He dished out the meal into three bowls, handing one to each Hisagi, ignoring Shuhei's glare. Nothing he had done was wrong or rude, he knew the man was just over protective.

The three sat around the table in silence. Shuhei wasn't talking for the sheer fact that he was annoyed at his friend and wanted an explanation the moment Kaya was out of the room, Izuru was silence since he did not want to anger his friend further and Kaya was quiet because she did not talk much anyway.

After dinner Kaya went to bed, since the pain killers were still making her extremely tired. Once her bedroom door was closed, Shuhei turned to his friend, a dark presence in his eyes. "What happened whilst I was gone?"

"I thought her how to cook, that's all. She wanted to learn and I figured that if I taught her one or two things then if you weren't around you wouldn't have to worry about her. It was nothing."

Shuhei frowned for a moment before sighing. "I suppose. Kaya would tell me if she felt you were being inappropriate and she isn't stupid. I guess I should trust you, you are my best friend after all."

_**Hope you like this chapter and I'm hoping I can get the next chapter written soon. R and R if you want.**_


	15. Floggings will be Administered

He had not been to visit Shuhei at his house since the incident with him falling asleep on the couch and Kaya waking him. He was admittedly embarrassed by the encounter. The incident as he taught Kaya to cook also brought a blush to his face. Shuhei trusted him, but it was the second time a situation with Kaya had been suggested as more and he did not wish to push his friend's trust. Not only that, but the Soul Society had a thriving rumour mill and he did not wish to embarrass Kaya by a foul rumour of the two being spread.

Izuru was focused on his work, doing both the job of a captain and lieutenant. Truthfully he never realized how much work went into managing a squad. Captain Ichimaru did most of Izuru's work along with his own, though the lieutenant did not know until after his betrayal. He assumed it was so Gin had a large control over the squad so he could use them as he willed without anyone noticing.

Now, however, he knew what a real lieutenant needed to do to keep his squad together and he was doing everything he could to ensure it. Truthfully he felt foolish for not realizing earlier that he was not doing the complete job of a lieutenant. He had heard his friends complaining about how difficult their job was, and he had never empathized with them. He had thought that perhaps the squads all had slightly different paperwork, since he had gone from squad four to squad three and so the paperwork _had_ changed. Now he realized that he had simply been blind to his captain's actions.

He tried not to dwell, and instead made sure he knew every aspect of a lieutenant's job and that of a captain, so that when they gained a new captain, he would know if they were doing something out of the ordinary for a captain.

His tired muscles were stretched when he rose to his feet, needing fresh air and a break from paperwork. Walking outside, he surveyed some of the training the squad members were doing before a noise drew his attention.

The sound of footsteps approaching reached his ears, as well as joyful talking and laughing. Looking in the direction that the noise was coming from, he saw three people walked in his direction. Two of the people were female, one walking with a heavy book and paper work and the other riding on the back of the only male of the group. It was the man and the girl on his back that were making the most noise as they seemed to be having an argument over whose fault it was they were drinking sake. Clearly the argument was a joke, for they were laughing.

He recognized all three of the shinigami, since they were all high ranking. The one who seemed the most serious was lieutenant of squad eight, Nanao Ise, the man next to her was her captain, Captain Kyoraku, and on his back was fifth seat, Kaya Hisagi. One of her arms that were slung over the captain's shoulder held a sake bottle that both she and her captain were drinking from and arguing about who had brought it.

"Should you be drinking that?" Izuru asked Kaya, worried for her health.

"Don't worry," Nanao sighed. "Captain Unahana made special pain killers for the members of Squad Eight and some for Squad Eleven. She knows that they can't stay away from sake."

"It's nice," defended Kaya, her stutter gone but a slur in place. "Want some?" she held the bottle out to the lieutenant of Squad Three.

"Kaya, don't be offering sake to shinigami that are working," scolded Nanao in a half hearted voice.

"Yeah, who taught you to share?" joked Captain Kyoraku.

"My brother," Kaya answered innocently.

"He shall be punished," the captain declared.

"Floggings will be administered," added Nanao, making the captain and fifth seat looked stunned before dissolving into laughing.

Izuru cleared his throat, drawing the attention back to him. "Not that I'm not enjoying the comedy styling of Squad Eight, but what brings you all here."

"Oh, well, Nanao had paper work to deliver, and Kaya wanted fresh air, but Nanao wouldn't let her move cause of her injury, so I offered to carry her. I followed Nanao because I like taking walked with my sweet little Nanao."

His 'sweet little Nanao' rolled her eyes before stepping forward, holding out the paperwork. As the male lieutenant took them, Kaya gasped and grinned, looking at someone in the distance before looking at Izuru.

"Is that your third seat?"

He looked over his shoulder at the training session being held in the courtyard. The woman running it was indeed his third seat Sakura. He looked back at the red-head, only to find both she and Lieutenant Ise were studying the third seat's appearance.

"Yes, it is. How have you heard of Sakura?" Izuru asked, knowing it was really none of his business, but he was highly curious.

Both girls started laughing as Captain Kyoraku chuckled. They didn't seem to have any intention of answering his question, instead, they talked to each other.

"I can see it!" declared Nanao. "You can too, can't you, Kaya?"

"Yeah, she seems very sweet." Kaya tapped on Captain Kyoraku's head, making him look at her over his shoulder. "Is she sweet?"

"As far as I know," replied the captain, taking a sip from the sake bottle.

Kaya huffed, clearly not pleased with that answer. "Is she sweet?" she asked Izuru, stealing the sake bottle off her captain.

The blond lieutenant was put in a state of confusion for a moment before he thought of an answer. "Well, yes, she is. She's always willing to help anyone, she's threatened your brother when he tried to kill me, and she always puts others first." When Kaya's eyes went down cast he felt he had to add to the explanation, if only to get the hollow feeling out of his abdomen. "I mean, she's practically a mum for the squad. She's older then practically everyone in the squad and I think that has something to do with it."

Kaya looked up, looking slightly confused. "Huh?"

Lieutenant Ise chuckled at Izuru's befuddled expression. "Kaya wasn't paying attention to the second half, she was thinking. When she looked sad like that, she's concentrating."

"She's pretty," Kaya declared in a soft voice before tapping her captain's head again. "Can you take me to Shuie?"

The brunette slowly nodded before making sure Kaya was secure on his back. He then flash stepped quickly enough for the other two not to see. They arrived in Squad nine quicker than most others would. Captain Kyoraku followed Shuhei's spiritual pressure and arrived at the older Hisagi's office. He vaguely wondered if he should leave the two siblings to it, but then knew how angry Kaya could get. It was both safer and more amusing to stay and watch. Sliding open the door, he carried the red head in.

"Shuhei," Kaya barked, jumping off her captain's back and ignoring the pain she felt.

Her brother raised his blue eyes to her face and smiled widely, rising to his feet. He walked around his desk, clearly not seeing the frustration in the female's eyes. "Kaya, how are you? What are you doing here?"

"Why did lieutenant Kira's third seat have to threaten you?" Kaya asked bluntly.

Shuhei was taken a back for a moment before her question registered in his mind. "Oh, well, Lieutenant Iba had told me something about the two of you, and obviously I got mad. Izuru assures me that nothing happened, especially _that_."

"You needed a knife against your throat to know that?" Kaya hissed, feeling her captain take a step back from the conflict that was sure to follow.

"Well, I just," Shuhei started weakly before remembering the full reason as to why he had yelled at his closest friend. "Iba made it sound as though Izuru had taken advantage of you, because I knew you would never do such a thing. I wasn't going to stand for it. You are my sister, practically my daughter and it is my job to protect you."

"Wrong choice of words," warned Captain Kyoraku, cringing as Kaya put her hands on her hips and raised herself up to her full height, clearly ignoring the strain it put on her stomach. He took a sip of sake, needing it to calm his own nerves.

"Your job to protect me? I am a Soul Reaper just like you. I am the leader of the Recovery Team, a position that is not given to someone who needs their brother to fight their battles. I can handle myself, I knew exactly who was helping me and I was grateful for their help. Also, if you can't trust him around your family then why are you friends with him?"

"I can..." Shuhei started before seeing the captain of Squad eight signalling that it was yet again the wrong choice of words.

"Then what?" yelled Kaya, glaring at her brother. "Do you think I'm going to tempt him into changing his behaviour and suddenly becoming the type of person you can't have around your family. His been your friend long enough that you shouldn't have to have a third seat threaten you for you to see that he wouldn't hurt, harm or use your sister in any way. And, I'm not ignorant. I know you went off at him for doing just as he promised you, which was look after me whilst you dealt with something in your squad, yet you suspected something, AGAIN!" She pointed an accusing finger at her brother. "You need to trust me more. You said it yourself, you raised me. Did you raise me to be weak?"

"No," Shuhei admitted in a small voice.

"Did you raise me to need protecting?"

"No," he said again, ignoring Captain Kyoraku's soft sniggers. It wasn't often one saw the lieutenant of Squad nine be scolded by his little sister, usually it was the other way around.

"Did you raise me to be used by men, or anyone for that matter?"

"No."

"Then why do you not trust me at least, even if you don't trust Izuru?" Kaya asked, knowing she had him.

Shuhei opened his mouth, only to close it and nod. "You're right. I should trust you more. I keep forgetting that you aren't a little child anymore. I'm sorry."

Kaya kept her hard look for a few more minutes before sighing and relaxing her expression. "You are forgiven until you do it again."

"Come, Kaya," spoke up Captain Kyoraku, stepping towards his subordinate. "We should be going."

Kaya carefully climbed onto her captain's back, giving her brother a sharp look when he frowned. "Bye, Shuie, remember what I said."

"Bye, Kaya," sighed Shuhei, sitting in his office chair, suddenly exhausted.

The two Squad eight members walked back to their barracks slowly. "Was that necessary?"

"If I w...wish to accomplish my g...g...goal, then m..y brother needs to rea...lise I'm not weak," Kaya explained, her anger leaving her, bringing the stutter back without the alcohol to suppress it.

Her captain tipped his hat up and looked over his shoulder at the female. "You need to realise that as well. You are not weak, and you can enter a fight without dying. Know this, and next time you enter a battle with an opponent that seems stronger, do not believe you will lose. If you do not do this, you will never reach the level you wish."


	16. Bi-Monthly

The sun beat down relentlessly, bringing a sweat to people's foreheads and causing them to squint their eyes. It was hot, forcing most people inside with a cool drink and lazy work. However, here were those others that found energy from the heat and were outside training, whether it sword or kidou training. Unfortunately for two people, they were in neither group.

It was normally the job of squad eight, as the recovery team, to send two people to go collect all the bi-monthly squad reports from captains and seated officers. Seeing as it is always two seated officers that collect the official documents and Squad Eight's fourth and fifth seats were both recovering from injury and no one trusted their third seat with paperwork, Squad One had assigned the job to two others.

Shuhei and Izuru were currently at Squad Six trying to get Renji to hand over his documents. Instead of going from Squad Thirteen to Squad One they decided to start with the most difficult squads first. They had gone to Squad Five first, seeing as with no captain or lieutenant the third, fourth and fifth seats were extra busy... and the third seat was a large scatter brains that lost everything. It had taken them half an hour to get three documents.

They had been at Squad Six for almost an hour. They had gotten the third, fourth and fifth seats to hand over their documents fairly quickly, though the fourth seat preferred flirting with Shuhei until her captain walked passed. It was mainly Renji who was stopping them.

"I have to finish this training session first," he told them for the tenth time when they pressed him to hurry up. He was one of the weird ones that received an energy kick from the heat.

The heat, however, was starting to drain the two other lieutenants who hadn't been eager to do the job in the first place.

"Why are you two collecting the Squad Reports anyway?" added the red-haired man. "Isn't it the recovery team's job to 'recover' the reports? I remember a blue haired boy and a red haired girl collecting them. They're a riot. An unseated officer tried to grab the girl's ass, so she put him in a binding kidou until they had finished collecting the reports."

"They are injured. You're talking about fourth seat Chika and fifth seat Miss Hisagi," explained Izuru, looking over the Squad Six, third seat's report. Izuru was one of the few Soul Reapers that enjoyed paperwork and actually put a lot of detail in. This one in front of him was medioca. Izuru had wrote fifty-two pages: forty-seven of those pages was a written report on how the squad had progressed in the two months, the attendance statistics of kidou and sword practice classes, any incidence needing reporting, their participation in resent events such as the Bount incident and lastly any recommendations for promotions or stripping of current seats. Pages forty-eight to fifty were charts and statistics showing the level of improvement as a whole over two months and the level of participation in training sessions in correlation to improvements. The last pages were on possible extensions to the squad barracks due to an increase of squad members and ideas for better communication so squads get their orders on time unlike Squad Three and Eleven in the Bount incident.

The report he held in his hands was five pages long and mainly consisted of the third seat praising Renji and his training sessions. That boy worshipped the red pineapple.

"Should have guessed that they would have some injuries after the Bounts," stated Renji, before yelling at some of his squad's members, "Tuck in your elbow, and you, don't be a hero, you can't handle one hand."

"What do you mean by 'you should have guessed'?" snapped Shuhei, glaring at the man.

Renji scratched the back of his neck. "Well, the recovery team tends to also be back-up if a team's gone down. Hey, I just realised, your sister is the leader of the recovery team... you should be proud."

Shuhei looked flabbergasted. "She's back-up? She failed to mention that," he splattered.

"She probably didn't want to worry you," contemplated Izuru. "Her captain wouldn't put her as leader if she couldn't handle it." He looked at his best friend, watching a mixture of emotions play over his face, including pain, anger and even pride. "Shuhei, you are going to have to stop thinking of your sister as just a little girl, otherwise you're going to send yourself crazy," advised the blond.

Shuhei thought for a moment before sighing and nodding before turning a sharp gaze on Renji. "Will you hurry up?"

"Fine, fine," agreed the red head, turning to his subordinates. "You can all take a break." He then walked off, letting his friends follow him to his office. He pulled the rather thin file of papers out of his desk draw and handed them to the Squad Three member, ignoring the man's eye roll.

"Come on, Izuru, you can give him an earful once we have all the other reports," Shuhei assured, turning to walk out of the room. He then proceeded to drag Izuru through Squad Seven barracks, not stopping to get the reports, though Izuru did try and make him, and headed straight for his sisters squad.

"Shuhei!"

"We need to get the reports from here, I'm not just trying to check up on my sister," the older man said in his own defence.

"Fine," Izuru sighed, "But you're buying me sake after all this for making us backtrack."

Shuhei looked over his shoulder and frowned. "How did I make us backtrack?"

The blond raised an eyebrow, clearly believing the answer to be obvious. "We're going to have to go back to get Squad Seven's reports."

"Oh," Shuhei said in understanding. "We went passed Squad Seven?"

Izuru dropped his head into his hand and sighed. "Yes, didn't you hear me saying we should stop?"

"Nope." Shuhei started walking again, expecting his friend to follow.

They walked towards the main courtyard, where they could feel multiple spiritual pressures. They found lower level soul reapers practising their kidou in groups. Looking around, the two lieutenants were able to find Kaya, sitting on the patio near the offices, surveying the subordinates. Her hair was in a high ponytail, like when Izuru had first met her, the ends brushing the middle of her back. It was clear that she was not joining in because of her injury and that someone had tried to make her comfortable by giving her a pillow to sit on and a bottle of water. The fact that he's sister seemed safe and happy made Shuhei calm down a little.

They walked over to her, making Kaya wave when she saw them. They then watched Kaya clap her hands loudly, gaining the attention of the soul reapers training. She told them that their practise was over and they could go get a drink.

She then turned her eyes on the two lieutenants, smiling when they drew closer. "Hi," she said, not moving to get up.

"Kaya," Shuhei started only to be cut off.

"Miss Hisagi," Izuru said with a slight bow. "Your brother is mad he didn't know the Recovery Team was backup but he also likes to tell you how proud he is, but unfortunately his anger is making it hard for him to vocalise it."

Kaya's smile grew, allowing Izuru to know it was wise of him to cut off what Shuhei would have actually said. "Re...really?"

The older Hisagi took a deep breath to start arguing that Izuru was lying but then he saw the eagerness in his sister's face for his answer. He remembered what she had said to him only days before. He had to start trusting her. He sighed, relaxing himself. "Yes. Kaya I wish you had told me, but I am proud of you." He didn't even have to lie as he said that.

"Miss Hisagi, we are also here to collect the squad's bi-monthly reports," explained the blonde.

"O...okay." She tried to get up but seemed to be having issues with her stomach muscles. As she threw out her arm to try and balance herself he grabbed it, Shuhei grabbing the arm she was trying to push herself up with. The two raised her to her feet with ease. She let them to her office, greeting the subordinates they passed with a wave.

"Hey, Kaya," yelled the fourth seat, running up to her. It seemed as though his leg was completely healed. "What'cha up to?"

"Bi-m...month...ly reports," she answered quietly, gesturing to the two lieutenants behind her.

"Damn it," exclaimed Chika, smacking his palm against his forehead. "I forgot about those."

"How'd you forget? You normally collect them," said Shuhei, looking surprised at the man.

"That's not my problem," he promised with a shake of his head.

"Chika al...ways forgets to...to finish his," Kaya explained as she chuckled at her friend. She grinned at her blue haired friend. "Run!"

He did as he was told, running off to his office, banging the door closed behind him. Kaya just shook her head and continued walking to her office, leaving the door open for the two men. She opened the top draw of her desk, pulling out a large stack of papers and handed them to Izuru. "H...ere you go."

Izuru looked at the large stack of papers Kaya had handed him as Chika came crashing into the room, not bothering to knock. The stack was larger than any of the others, even his own, and he was curious as to what the red head had written.

"Kaya, I can't find the stuff I wrote down," Chika said in a hysteric voice.

With a laugh, the red head reaching back into her desk draw and pulled out a smaller stack of paper. "I m...made co...copies for you."

"Thank you!" Chika rushed forward, kissing Kaya on the cheek, right next to her mouth. He seemed to not hear Shuhei cracking his knuckles as he took the papers from his friend. "You are amazing!" He handed them to Izuru with a wink, making the blond frown in confusion as he took them.

Izuru put Chika's report in the side satchel he carried and turned to Kaya's report as the young Hisagi led them out of the office and to the third seat's office. Her report was longer then his, being fifty-four pages long, single spaced. The first forty-seven outlined the squad's progress in kidou and shunpo, as well as the progress of the Recovery team. Pages forty-eight to fifty were charts and statistics showing the level of improvement over the past two months and level of participation in classes in correlation to improvement. Fifty-one to fifty-two documented extensions on the squad barracks due to increase squad numbers and lastly, two pages were devoted to requests for the development of better communication between the teams and other squads after the Bount incident and a request for members of the Recovery team to learn basic healing kidou of members from Squad Four so they could help heal the critically wounded before moving them to the Relief Station. The report was highly detailed, though she did have the Recovery Team to run, so it would need to be.

Shuhei had to threaten the third seat so that he would stop insulting Kaya and actually hand over the report, which ended up being only twenty pages of scribble and was fairly battered. After that, they went to the Captain and Lieutenant office to get Lieutenant Ise and Captain Kyoraku's reports. They found the two in the room, the Lieutenant rousing on the lazy captain, who was lying on the floor with his hat over his eyes.

Kaya knocked on the doorframe after opening the door, alerting her superiors to hers and the two lieutenant's presence. They instantly stopped arguing, Captain Kyoraku lifting his hat to smile at Kaya.

"My darling little Kaya," the captain said cheerfully, rising to his feet. "Come in." He walked behind Kaya, grasping her shoulders and guiding her to the couch, the one the captain had opted not to lie on. "You shouldn't be walking around."

"I'm h...he...healing quicker th...en C...captain Unahana ex...pected," Kaya explained with a slight giggle, though she did sit down. When she sat, her captain discreetly handed her what looked to be a chocolate bar, shooting looks at Nanao to make sure she wasn't watching.

"So what brings you all here, and captain, don't help Kaya rot her teeth out," Nanao said in a calm voice, her glasses flashing.

The two other Squad Eight members sniggered as Shuhei explained to the other lieutenant. "We're collecting the bi-monthly reports because Kaya and Chika are both injured."

A look of surprise flickered across Nanao's face before she turned and moved towards her desk. "Oh. Right, I forgot that was today."

"It's the heat," Captain Kyoraku explained, lazily, sitting next to Kaya and sharing her chocolate. "And I did mine this time, it should be on my desk."

Nanao walked over to his desk and held up a decent size stack of paper. "Yeah, the one with sake stains."

Captain Kyoraku shrugged as Kaya laughed. "At least it shows I did it. Oh, and speaking of sake..."

"We weren't," Nanao cut in, only to be waved away by her captain.

"I'm glad you two are here," the man continued, looking at Shuhei and Izuru. "Squad Eight is holding a party tomorrow night for Kaya, to celebrate her being out of the Relief Station and healing well. It seems only right that her brother and the man who saved her are there."

"Captain..." Kaya started, blushing as red as her hair.

"Don't start again," her captain ordered good naturedly. "You deserve a party. So, what do you say, Shuhei, Izuru?"

"Sure," Izuru agreed with a smile at the two. "You do deserve a party, Miss Hisagi."

Shuhei nodded. "I will be there. Just take it easy, Kaya."

"Oh, you should invite your third seat, Lieutenant Kira," Nanao suddenly exclaimed, making Kaya look gleeful.

"Yes!" the red head agreed, bouncing in her seat. "Yes! Oh." She held her stomach, clearly aggravating her stomach muscles.

"Why?" Izuru asked, frowning in confusing and concern for Kaya.

Nanao shrugged in a nonchalant way. "She seems nice."

He could tell that was not the whole truth but he shrugged. "I'll see what I can do, but Shuhei and I have to collect the rest of these, then he owes me sake."

They all said their goodbyes before Shuhei and Izuru left to finish the job usually reserved for two Squad Eight members.


	17. Squad Eight Party

The noise radiated from Squad Eight, carrying itself throughout the surrounding squads. It was a common occurrence for the squad known for partying but Shuhei knew this one was different. This particular party was for his sister, fifth seat and leader of the Recovery team. It was an odd feeling, knowing that the music, the boisterous voices, the lights and the heavy smell of sake and finger food were all for his little sister, who he had raised.

When he got to the back courtyard where the party was being held, he looked around for the bright red hair that often signified Kaya. However, the first red head he found was not his sister, but Rangiku, who came up behind him and gave him a tight hug, restricting his breathing with her iron hold. His face turned as red as his sister's hair, a mixture of the lack of oxygen and the close proximity to Rangiku.

"C…can't breathe," he managed to choke out, making his friend release him. Once out of the busty woman's grasp he turned, smiling at her. "Hey, Rangiku, I didn't know you knew my sister."

"Well I don't exactly," the other lieutenant admitted, smiling brightly. "I'm friends with Captain Kyoraku and he told me about this party, for your sister, and I thought I'd come."

Shuhei nodded in understanding before spotting Kaya, who was being spun by her friend, Chika, both of them laughing, her dress flaring lightly around her knees. She wore a black, capped sleeved dress with white polka dots and the back was cut down to her lower back, with a strip across her back just under her shoulder blades. He put his hand on Rangiku's arm, leading her over to the other Hisagi. They had not properly met and he wished to introduce them. "Kaya," he called when he was closer.

The red head stopped twirling suddenly, making her sway violently and put a hand to her forehead. "Wow, dizzy!" she declared, Chika putting his hands on her shoulders to steady her. "Hi, Shuie!" she squealed tackling her brother in a hug. "You're here."

Shuhei laughed, hugging her back before Kaya stepped back, her face tinged red from, he assumed, drinking sake.

"Is Lieutenant Kira coming… a…and his um, third… third seat?" she asked as Chika left to speak with another friend.

Shuhei nodded. "Yeah, Izuru convinced her that she wouldn't be intruding and Izuru is looking forward to getting away from all the paperwork, so his definitely coming."

A large smile erupted onto Kaya's face and she bounced on her heels, clapping her hands and reminding Shuhei of when she was younger. "That's good. Sakura seems nice, and Lieutenant Kira deceives a break."

"Kaya," Shuhei gestured to the woman beside him who was sipping generously from a sake cup, "this is Rangiku, Lieutenant of Squad Ten."

"Isn't she cute?" Rangiku gushed, going to hug Kaya, only for Izuru to appear and pull Kaya to his side, away from the cuddly woman. "Izuru, I was going to give her a hug," the woman pouted, straightening up and crossing her arms, making her chest bounce.

"Then I got here just in time," the blond joked, his arm still around the red-head's shoulder. "Miss Hisagi is still on the mend, and she doesn't need you smothering her to death."

"Thank you," Kaya whispered to Izuru before someone yelled her name, drawing her attention. She waved before slowly stepping out from beside the blond. "Shuhei, can you walk me home at the end of the night?"

"Of course," Shuhei promised before Kaya give her farewell to them and went to talk to more guests. He watched her as she made her way through the crowd before he turned to his friends.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was as she danced with Nanao that the music was stopped and her captain stood up on one of the tables. He called for attention in a boisterous voice, clapping his hands excitedly. Kaya's face turned red, knowing what Captain Kyoraku was about to do.

"As with all our parties held to acknowledge the survival of and recovery of one of our squad members, it is time to embarrass our guest of honor with stories she would never want told or just how much we _love_ her. Kaya, darling, come stand next to your captain."

Blushing deeply, Kaya made her way through the crowd, climbing onto the table with the help of one of the squad members standing near the table and her captain. Captain Kyoraku drew her into his side, only for her to hide her face in his shoulder. The shoulder shook under her cheek as the brunette laughed.

"As many Squad Eight members would already know but some of our guests may not, is that whilst Kaya didn't become an official member of our squad until she finished the academy, unofficially, she was our youngest member, even younger then Nanao when she first joined.

She was this tiny little girl who barely ever talked. When I first met her in the Squad Thirteen office, she wouldn't say a word to any of us until Nanao showed up. She had apparently followed a puppy." At this a chuckle ran through the listening partiers, many clearly knowing what puppy it was she had followed.

As everyone who has met Kaya will know, she is an honest girl, but one hell of a fighter and drinker, nearly drinking me under the table a few times, but she's also extremely shy, and always willing to help making her one of Squad Eight's _little treasures_!" He pinched one of Kaya's cheeks that glowed red. "Now, someone else may come up and embarrass the guest of honor. Just remember that she is still healing."

Kaya stuck her tongue out at her captain as Yumichika climbed up onto the table in his usual extravagant way as Captain Kyoraku stumbled off, being helped down by Captain Ukitake who was standing next to Sakura. "Oh no," the red head mumbled once she saw her fight loving friend standing at the other end of the table. Her voice was projected out to all the guests, making them laugh. "Not you!"

Yumichika laughed good-naturedly. "Ikkaku and I met Kaya at the academy, where we were sent to learn certain things you apparently need to be a Soul Reaper. We almost got into a fight on our first day that would have gotten us kicked out, but this one here showed up and got us out of it, only to yell at us after. From then, she was our friend… though," Kaya hid her face in her hands, knowing what was coming, "Not many would know, but she and Ikkaku did go on a date once. Kaya's favourite band is Annacide and Ikkaku had two tickets to the concert, though I did go as well, as did some of our friends. How did that date go, Kaya?"

Kaya looked up, fighting laugher. "All I remember is the music, I was too drunk to remember anything else."

"Exactly!" Yumichika laughed. "You drank so much that all you could remember was the music. Though I have to admit you do something interesting when you're drunk." His hand went behind Kaya's back and although no one could see, Kaya felt one finger run down her spin, making her squeal loudly, jerking away from Yumichika. The squad eleven member laughed as Kaya turned around to punch his arm, making him rub it in pain. "You are, to this day, the only woman who has gone off at Ikkaku and I and walked away without a scratch. You didn't go off at us for fighting in general, but for not fighting smart. You are certainly one of the strongest soul reapers I know, and I don't mean muscle." He pinched Kaya's arm, as though to check to see how little muscle there was, only to have Kaya punch him again.

The next person to scramble onto the table made Shuhei clench his fists in anger. It wasn't who the person was but more what they did the moment they were safely on the table that annoyed the lieutenant so much. Chika wrapped his arms around Kaya's shoulders, drawing her back to his chest tightly. The male was built similar to Renji, though shorter, easily surrounding Kaya's form with his own.

"Kaya, here," Chika gave her a quick squeeze, "is a feisty little one. I have a theory that she stutters to only look innocent and anyone who has seen her zanpakuto will agree. The first time I saw her display of it's ability was when she was showing Captain Kyoraku. It was also the first time I ever say the Captain drop a bottle of sake, and he hadn't even taken a sip."

The members of Squad Eight, as well as some of Captain Kyoraku's other friends laughed whilst Rangiku turned to Shuhei in confusion. "Her zanpukato's ability is fear, right?"

"Yeah," Shuhei muttered before turning his attention back to Kaya and her friend.

"This beautiful woman here," Chika gave Kaya a friendly shake in his arms, "is one of my eldest friends and till this day, the only woman I have ever kissed." He whispered something in Kaya's ear that made her laugh and blush whilst everyone chuckled at the part they had all heard.

Shuhei's head felt suddenly heavy, as though he was struck by the flu or his brain was unable to process the information it had been given. His eyes widened before he felt a hand clamp onto his shoulder. Instantly he turned a glare onto his blond friend.

"She's an adult, and at least he doesn't sound like a playboy," reasoned Izuru with a tight smile.

"You do realize that my brother is in crowd, right?" Kaya's voice rang out, reaching the two men.

Chika grinned and let Kaya go, stepping to the side of her and slinging his arm over her shoulders. "Yes, the more preferable Hisagi, I can see him." Again he whispered in Kaya's ear with a large grin on his face.

Her mouth dropped open wide in disbelief before Chika took off running with a loud bark of laughter, Kaya following after a second delay. Captain Kyoraku, who seemed to have predicted that the two would run off like they did, was on the stage within seconds of them running off. He told them all to drink and have fun, but try not to throw-up to much, he didn't want to clean it up the next day.  
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"This beautiful woman here," Chika give her a friendly shake, his arms still locked comfortably around her, "is one of my eldest friends and till this day, the only woman I have ever kissed."

She felt his breath tickle her ear. _"And the last, though you were an excellent kisser,"_ he whispered with humour in his voice, making Kaya laugh and blush.

She looked out into the crowd, hearing people chuckle. She saw her brother, standing towards the back of the crowd, his face covered in shock and anger whilst Izuru seemed to try to calm him, though his expression was pained.

Kaya couldn't help but pointing out that Chika was in danger. She knew he had the ability to lighten any mood. "You do realize that my brother is in crowd, right?"

Chika released her and moved to the side, draping his arm over her shoulder casually, allowing her to see his wide smile. "Yes, the more preferable Hisagi, I can see him." His nose skimmed against her ear as he teased her. "_Standing next to the guy you used to have a crush on… maybe he would like to know what I thought of your kiss._"

Kaya felt her mouth open wide in surprise moments before Chika widely ran, taking a leap off the table. Once she realized where Chika had went she chased after him, not too far behind.

_**Hope you all like it, and sorry it took so long, I had to ask a friend if it was working. Please R and R.**_


	18. Squad Eight Party pt 2

Kaya had chased Chika for only a short time before he stopped, allowing Kaya to give him a playful shove and then close her arms with a fake pout. "Not nice!"

Chika just laughed but was saved from any further assaults by Ikkaku, who came over with a drink in either hand. He handed one to Kaya, who smiled gratefully.

"Thank you for not g…getting up there too." Kaya took a generous gulp of her sake as Ikkaku laughed.

"Nah, not to fond of public speaking," assured the bald man before he took in the way Kaya was swaying. "Come on," he took the hand not holding the cup of sake, "let's dance."

"Yeey," Kaya cheered, downing the rest of her drink and handing her cup to Chika, Ikkaku following her example.  
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His eyes scanned the crowd, trying to find where Kaya and her 'friend' had disappeared to. He saw Captain Kyoraku drinking with Rangiku, Sakura was immersed in a conversation with Captain Ukitake and Izuru was standing with him, trying to stop him from doing anything stupid.

"Let's just have some drinks," he advised, pulling the older boy over to the refreshment table. He forced a cup into Shuhei's hand before grabbing his own to drink. "Your sister wouldn't appreciate you killing her friend at _her_ party."

Shuhei finished his drink quickly before grabbing another. He seemed to be trying to get rid of his anger through drinking. It was when he was on his fourth that someone spotted him.

"You're Kaya's brother, aren't you?" asked a rather sturdy looking woman, eyeing off Shuhei as though she actually had doubt about that.

"Yes I am," answered the man, lowering his drink.

The woman smiled. "She's an amazing soul reaper," she praised. "She talks about you a lot."

"She does?" Shuhei asked in surprise, dropping his hand so that the sake, unbeknown to the man, tipped onto his shoes.

"Yeah. She has those pictures of you two: the one of when you graduated from the academy and then when she did. She always talks about how you worked hard to become a lieutenant and how your squad respects you. It's not hard to believe that."

"It wasn't?" Izuru questioned with a chuckle, getting a glare off of his friend.

"Well, no," admitted the woman before them. "Whenever she said that it reminded me of her! Squad Eight respects her; she's a magnificent Soul Reaper. You must be proud of her."

"I am," admitted Shuhei, grabbing another drink off the table. After the first Squad Eight member, there were at least five other people who came up to him, asking if he was Kaya Hisagi's brother, saying how she was a great shinigami and other nice things. One particular person was from Squad Two, and although they had been under the control of one of the Bount's dolls during the Bount invasion, they still remembered that it was Kaya who bound them with a kidou, preventing another squad member from having to attack them in the hopes of defending themselves.

When the last person walked away from them, Shuhei sighed, leaning against the wall of the Squad Eight offices. He seemed contemplative, leading Izuru to wonder if he should interrupt his thoughts. It was obvious that Shuhei was looking at Kaya, who was laughing with Lieutenant Ise. Finally, the older man spoke. "You know, I nearly lost Kaya when she was a baby."

This peaked Izuru's interest, even through the haze the sake was placing on his mind. Shuhei rarely talked about when he was younger, and it was even rarer for him to talk about Kaya. "How?"

"She wasn't even one, and some friends and I were trying to find food. I was carrying her when a hollow appeared, knocking her out of my arms. I thought it ate her, she was gone that quick. It kept saying that it could smell a strong soul. I thought she was dead, and I wanted the hollow to die too, but it was too strong. Luckily the captain of Squad Nine appeared and took it out and the lieutenant found Kaya in a bush right nearby. She was unharmed. Right before I found out she was alive, the captain told me to stop crying. It wasn't until Kaya was returned to me that he understood why I was so determined to kill that hollow."

"Is that why you became a Soul Reaper?" Izuru looked at Kaya as well, surprised that she had survived that ordeal without any issues.

"Partly," admitted Shuhei. "The fact that we could never get enough food was another reason. We were always hungry. But we're both good now, though I still worry about her."

"If it makes you feel better, she looks perfectly happy and safe."

"Only because you saved her." Shuhei turned his gaze away from Kaya and onto Izuru. "Thank you. I don't think I said that before, but thank you for saving her and keeping an eye out for her, even though I assumed the worst."

"And this is why I don't like you getting drunk," joked Izuru. "You always get sappy."  
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She felt a hand grab her wrist and pull her through the crowd. Stumbling slightly from the force, Kaya stopped in front of Nanao, who grinned widely. Her superior did a little happy dance, her cheeks tinged with the slightest of red. It was rare that she drunk and partied.

"It worked," she gleefully stated, putting a hand on each of Kaya's shoulders. "You're wobbling."

"Sweetie, that's you," Kaya laughed, watching as Nanao swayed. She giggled, finding this a rare treat. "And what's working?"

"My plan," Nanao squealed.

"Your plan to stop drinking for the night?" Kaya prodded, thinking that her superior should at least slow down with the alcohol, since she didn't drink nearly as much as half the members of their squad.

"No, my plan to get Captain Ukitake and Sakura together." Nanao paused. "I thought you knew. Isn't that why you agreed to inviting her here?"

"No. you said she was sweet, and that she needed a break, and we suspected Captain Ukitake liked her, but I didn't know you were trying to get them together."

"Oops," Nanao giggled, covering her mouth with her hands. "I forgot to tell you."

Kaya laughed, spying Captain Ukitake talking with Sakura as he had been all night. It seemed as though he was trying to coax her onto the makeshift dance floor. She looked back at Nanao, who was swaying dangerously as she took another sip of sake. "Come on, Nanao."

With an arm around the dark haired girl's shoulder, Kaya guided Nanao over to their captain, who was sitting on the grass with a group of people, two of those people being Ikkaku and Chika.

"Captain, Nanao's drunk," Kaya stated once she stood next to the man.

Nanao, as though to confirm Kaya's accusations, giggled and waved before stepping to the side and succeeding in falling into a sitting position next to her captain. "Hi, Shunsui," she chirped.

Captain Kyoraku grinned, his eyes sparking from under his hat. "That she is, and hello, my sweet Nanao." He shrugged off his pink haori, draping it over Nanao's shoulders. He then watched as Nanao pulled it around herself and curled up, using her captain's thigh as her pillow. He looked at Kaya in surprise before they both started chuckling. "Yep, she's drunk."

Kaya chuckled before Chika pulled her down, so she was sitting in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, resting his chin on her collarbone. "Hey, beautiful."

"Hey, handsome," Kaya replied with a laugh as Chika started swaying them to the rhythm of the music. When she was nearly thrown from her seat by one particularly strong sway she decided to halt him. "Chika, you're going to make up both sick if you keep doing that."

"You shouldn't be sitting on him," someone snapped in a slurred voice.

Kaya and Chika both looked up to see Shuhei towering over them with glazed eyes. His words made Chika laugh.

"There's nothing to worry about."

"You've kissed her before," Shuhei reminded, plopping to the ground beside his sister and her friend, his knee accidently hitting Chika's painfully.

Again, the blue haired boy laughed. "Yes, well, you see, that was to gain answers. The easiest way to get these answers was to find the most beautiful, attractive, sweet, and understanding woman I could find, and kiss her. I found two! Tani: who was taken; and Kaya: who was not, and who was the right amount of scary." He squeezed Kaya gently and kissed her ear, making her chuckle.

"What questions did you have that needed my sister's lips to answer them?" the elder Hisagi said with suspicion.

A large grin spread across Chika's face as the woman in his lap giggled. "Whether or not I was gay. I figured if a woman as beautiful as this couldn't attract me, no woman could."

"Here, here!"

The three looked up to see Izuru joining their little group. Each person had a different reaction to the blond's outburst. Shuhei looked stunned and as though the alcohol was stopping him from fully comprehending the situation. Chika had fallen back, howling with laughter. Kaya's face turned as red as her hair. She hid it by looking down at Chika as she tried to keep her seat.

"What?" Izuru asked in confusion, obviously not understanding their individual reactions. "I caught the tail end of what you said. It seems a valid way for you to find out."

"Dude, you just hit on Kaya," Chika explained, sitting back up and stabilizing Kaya, who was still blushing deeply.

Blue eyes widened dramatically. "No! No! I… I…" He stopped and thought before blushing and dropping his head. "I'm sorry." He looked at Shuhei with a grim expression. "How many drinks do you need before you forget this?"

Kaya looked at her brother before turning back to the lieutenant of Squad Three. "How many has he had?"

"About ten."

"He's good," she assured. "He can't handle more than thirteen."

"It's Kaya you have to worry about," Chika reminded, wrapping his arms back around Kaya, pulling her to his chest.

"Hey," Shuhei slurred. "What did you say about my sister?"

The three others laughed before Izuru turned back to Kaya. "If I give you this will you forget this embarrassing situation?" he held out his cup of sake to the red head.

"It's a start," Kaya said as she accepted the cup.

"Captain, shouldn't you get Nanao to somewhere more comfortable?"

Captain Kyoraku broke off his conversation with Rangiku when he heard the fourth seats words. Looking over as Chika, he tipped his hat up and replied, "If I do that now, she'll just wake up. Got to give it a bit longer." He then turned his gaze onto Izuru. "Lieutenant Kira, I don't believe I had the chance to honestly thank you for saving a member of my squad and a dear friend. Thank you, very much. I know you will probably say that you were just doing your job, but you deserve to be recognized for that."

Izuru smiled shyly, feeling awkward at the attention of one of the eldest captains. Thankfully, Kaya was able to draw the attention away from him.

"I need to use the bathroom," she stated as though she had contemplated it for a minute or two. She then held her arms out, waving her hands in a childish manner. "Yumi, help me up, my tummy hurts."

The Squad Eleven member, who had just rose to his feet himself, turned to his friend and grabbed her hands, easily pulling her up. He helped Kaya straighten her dress, which had became a bit ruffled when she almost fell off Chika's lap, before she practically sprinted to the bathroom.  
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The party had finally started to come to an end. Some had stumbled home, including Ikkaku and Yumichika, who were mumbling about training in the morning whilst Captain Kyoraku, who seemed to be fairly sober, carried Nanao into their office, presumably so that she could sleep on the couch. Captain Ukitake had left earlier, having drank very little, and had insured that members of his squad were getting home safely, as well as Sakura. Most of the people who were still there were either passed out or to intoxicated to walk. It seemed the only two who could function were Kaya, who was kicking her brother's side gently to wake him up after putting a blanket over his naked form, and Izuru, who was sitting on the ground with an unconscious Rangiku resting her head on his shoulder. When Kaya couldn't wake Shuhei, Izuru spoke up.

"I can walk you home," he said, blushing when one of the drunk Squad Eight members whistled, insinuating something else.

Thankfully, Kaya was either to drunk, or to innocent to understand what the whistle may indicate for she said yes and stumbled over to get her jacket. When she had retrieved it, she kept walking towards the gates that would lead out of her squad, making Izuru push Matsumoto off his shoulder and follow her. She was already half way down the corridor when he had finally picked his way through the drunken forms.

"Miss Hisagi, wait!" he called, making her halt her walking. He was able to catch up to her easily and they continued walking together.

Their journey was silent, making Izuru uneasy. From what he had seen tonight, whilst Kaya wasn't a talkative drunk, she was a friendly one. He tried to coerce words out of her with a simple throat clearing but that didn't seem to work. He then tried a more direct approach.

"Everyone in Squad Eight adores you," he spoke, using the best off handed voice he could. He wasn't very good at hiding when he was awkward. "They kept thanking me for saving you. Shuhei was proud to be known at that party as Kaya's brother."

Kaya gave a slight smile. "Everyone in the squad is close. Captain makes sure of that. We lost two great people and I don't think they could have handled losing a third. Person, I mean. I'm not conceded enough to think myself a great!"

"Well you should," Izuru told her, putting his hands in his pockets. "Everyone back there finds you one of the greats and I can see why."

She blushed as dark as her hair and even the dark of the night could not hide it. "I can make it back by myself; you should get back to your girlfriend."

Izuru faltered in his step before catching up to Kaya again. He looked at her with bewilderment before exclaiming, "I don't have a girlfriend."

The red-head looked sideways at him, confusion marring her features. "That woman who had been sleeping on your shoulder! Shuie said when you two drink you end up naked." Kaya looked down, blushing.

Izuru felt his face burn at those words. Whilst they were true, they were slightly out of context, though embarrassing, no matter what. "No, it's not like that. Drinking sake makes your body temperature rise. When this happens, in my drunken state, I mention it and Rangiku, in her drunken state, tells me to lose some clothing to cool down. The same thing happened to Shuhei tonight."

"Don't remind me. He did it in front of Nanao, Captain is not happy." She paused for a moment before speaking again. "I use ice when my body temperature rises. I rub it along my neck, chest and back, like this." She demonstrated the motions Izuru saw her use earlier that night, making him gulp at the memory of her rolling her head back at one particular point.

"Yeah, I… I think I re…remember seeing you do that," he stammered, trying to keep his face blank as Kaya smiled up at him. It was hard for his hazy mind to remember exactly who Kaya was when she did that. It seemed so uncharacteristic of her, but she did also have an innocent air to her as she spoke.

They reached the Hisagi house, making Kaya fumble with her key as she tried to unlock the door. Finally she succeeded in getting the door open, allowing her to step over the threshold. She then turned to look at Izuru, leaning heavily on the framework of the door as she did. "Thank you for walking me home, and stopping me from being all bleedy over that guy's doll."

Izuru snorted. "You're welcome."

"Will you be okay getting home?" Kaya asked, leaning her head to the side to rest it on the doorframe, only to hit it against the wood. "Ow."

"I'll be fine, but you should get to sleep."

"Sounds good," Kaya agreed, moving out of the doorway and going to close the door. "Bye." Before Izuru had a chance to reply, she had closed the door.

"She certainly can hold her alcohol better than her brother," Izuru muttered, walking away.

_**This chapter turned out a lot different then I first thought it would but it seems to work rather will. R and R.**_


	19. Morning After

It was the piercing pain that woke her with a startling cry. Her hand shot out of her cocoon of blankets, groping around her nightstand for the bottle of pain killers for her stomach. Once she had them, she fumbled around for her bottle of water. When she failed to find it, she raised her head out of her blankets, hissing when sunlight hit her eyes. She found the allusive water and turned over, onto her back with a pained groan so that she could take her tablets. Once swallowing the small pills, she gulped down the rest of her water before throwing the blankets completely off and dragging herself out of bed.

She was quite surprised to find that she had changed into her pajamas when Shuhei had brought her home since she had no recollection of it. With a shrug, Kaya walked out of her room, running her fingers through her thick, tangled hair. Her skin felt dry, her head heavy and her mouth tasted as though it had once had many delicious flavours mixed within but they had all gone sour long ago. Her head pounded with every step she took, resembling a death march played on drums. Kaya couldn't wait for the pain killers to start working, knowing they would deal with her hangover as well.

"Shuie," she called as she walked down the hall to her brother's room. "Shuie, l…lets go out f…f…for breakfast, on me." She didn't want to even smell Shuhei's cooking when her stomach felt as though it was rebelling against her. "Shuie?" She knocked on his door, getting no answer. After one more knock, she opened it, only to find the room empty. Confused, she went out into the living room, only to find Shuhei nowhere in the house. This caused her to stop and think about how she got home. She remembered going to Shuhei at the end of the night to get him to take her home but she couldn't remember him actually doing it. She couldn't remember how she arrived home, but she knew it wasn't on her own. One way she knew was that: she remembered talking to someone, and two: she knew she was too drunk to do that.

Figuring it was Ikkaku who brought her home, she got dressed, had a quick shower and went to have breakfast, stopping by Squad Eleven's barracks first. She knocked hard of Ikkaku's door, knowing he would be in a deep sleep. She had to knock three times, her knuckles going red. Finally, she heard grumbling from the other side of the door.

"This better be good, or I'm going to run you through." A red eyed Ikkaku answered the door.

Kaya looked at him for a second before yelping, turning away from her friend and covering her eyes. "Ikkie!"

"Rosy, what's wrong?" he asked before looking down, noticing that his robe had fallen open. He closed it before looking at his friend, who wasn't facing him. "Crap, sorry! You can turn around now."

"No," Kaya said with a soft whine. "It m...might come out... out again." She heard Ikkaku sigh.

"What brings you here? I was hoping you wouldn't want to train till this afternoon."

"I tho...thought you...d want some b...br...breakfast." She turned towards him, her eyes still covered. "M...my treat."

"Sure, just let me get dressed." He closed his door, allowing Kaya to uncover her eyes. He was back within minutes fully dressed. "So, where do you want to go?" 

It had taken him a few minutes to realize where he was, then it took him even longer to find his clothing that were scattered around him. Once he had quickly dressed whilst trying to hold the blanket around him, he tried to locate his friends. He found Rangiku happily sleeping on the ground but he couldn't seem to locate Izuru or Kaya anywhere.

Figuring Izuru had went home, Shuhei went towards the Squad Eight offices, wondering if Kaya had decided to sleep in her office or her captain's office when she discovered he wasn't conscious to walk her home. He found her office empty making him move on to the captain's and lieutenant's office. Knocking briefly, he slid open the door, hearing a surprised yelp as he did so. The sound was quickly followed by a thud, caused by Nanao falling off the couch after being awoken by Shuhei's presence. The groan that rang through the room was from Captain Kyoraku, who had been sleeping on the floor beside the couch until Nanao fell on top of him.

"CAPTAIN KYORAKU?!" Nanao yelled, scrambling to her feet. "What are you doing in my room?"

Captain Kyoraku sat up, stretching in a calm manner. "We're not in your room," he explained, "We're in the office."

Nanao looked around, realizing that her captain was telling the truth before she noticed Shuhei standing at the door. "Is there something you need, Lieutenant Hisagi?"

"Do you know where Kaya is?" he asked, starting to worry.

The brunette captain frowned as he scratched his head. "She went home."

"That's impossible," Shuhei protested, "She wouldn't have been able to get home she was that drunk."

"I saw someone walking with her. I'm not sure who."

Shuhei gave him a wide eyed look of fright before running out the door, determined to check their house before his panic rose. He shunpoed home, almost crashing through his front door in his haste. The house was disserted but the dress Kaya had been wearing the night before was thrown cavalierly onto her bedroom floor and her bed was a mess. He couldn't sense anyone's reiatsu within the house other than his own and Kaya's, which meant whoever walked her home either didn't stay or was skilled enough to hide his spiritual presence.

He noticed that the water next to Kaya's bed was emptied; reminding Shuhei of the fact that Kaya was taking painkillers and was still healing. Out of hope, he decided to check if Kaya had gone to Squad Four to get a check-up. To make his journey shorter, he decided to cut through Squad Three instead of going around. As he walked, he tried to stop his spiritual pressure from fluctuating with the tension he felt.

He saw a flash of blond in the training area, feeling his fellow lieutenant's reiatsu. Working further through Squad Three, Shuhei could see his friend finish training with a lower seat and lower his hands, no longer firing kidous at the boy. The blond then noticed his friend as he went to get a drink of water.

"Hey, Shuhei, I didn't expect you to be up and about yet," commented Izuru, whipping sweat off his neck with his towel. "You were pretty drunk last night."

Yeah," Shuhei agreed distractedly, ignoring the pain in his head. "Have you seen Kaya? Is she at Squad Four?"

"Why? Is she alright?"

"I don't know." Shuhei huffed. "I can't find her. I'm hoping she is getting a check up at Squad Four."

"Alright, let's go then," Izuru advised, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, guiding him in the direction of the Relief Station.

Once they arrived, Shuhei took deep breaths before calmly asking one of the nurses if his sister was there. Unfortunately, she informed him that his sister had no appointment and had not came in for any reason that day. Thankfully for the lieutenant of Squad Nine, Izuru had a idea.

"Why don't you just sense out her reiatsu. Unless she's purposely trying to hide it, like in training, it should be at a steady level."

Shuhei cocked his head to the side, something he commonly did when contemplating an idea. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Easy, you're not as brilliant as me."

The dark haired man rolled his eyes before concentrating, trying to locate his sister. "She's in Squad Eleven, and her spiritual pressure is higher than usual." He shunpoed away, making his friend follow after him with a shake of his head.

They arrived at the gate, leading to Squad Eleven. The gate was cracked and there were suspicious marks on the wood that looked like blood. There was a slight pungent smell emanating from the area and there were clear noises of fighting. None of this helped to quell the pounding of Shuhei's heart.

Walking in, they kept their eyes peeled from any threats. Following Kaya's spiritual pressure, they found her, engaged in a sword fight with Ikkaku Madarame. Neither of them had released their zanpakutos but it seemed as though Kay had weights on her wrists. The young girl was doing well to keep up with Ikkaku, though he didn't seem to be bloodthirsty at that time.

When the third-seat moved away, Kaya plunged her blade into the ground and, whilst still holding the hilt, flipped over it, slamming the heel of her foot into her friend's head. Ikkaku stumbled back, dazed, and raised his hand to his head, pulling it back to find blood.

"Nice shot," praised the warrior with a smile. "Didn't see it coming."

Kaya pulled her sword out of the ground with ease and swung it across her body with one hand. "I'm getting u…u…used to th…e weight."

"Well if you want to unseal out zanpakutos then we're going to have to go somewhere else." Ikkaku grinned and charged the red-head. Their swords met with a piercing clang before the bald man put more force behind his attack, making Kaya go on the defense.

It was at this point that Shuhei put his hands around his mouth and took a deep breath. "HEY!"

The two stopped and looked over at the lieutenants standing at the edge of the training ground. Kaya frowned at her brother in confusion before looking at Ikkaku then Izuru, hoping one of them had the answer to her brother's behaviour.

"Hi, Shuie." She greeted, putting her sword away and walking towards the other Hisagi. "W…what are you d…d…doing here?"

"Looking for you. I was meant to walk you home last night and instead I wake up in the Squad Eight grounds, and your captain told me he saw you walking home with some guy, but you weren't at home when I checked. What's going on?"

"Umm, I do…don't fully re…remember but it's coming b…ack. You were out cold, so…so…so someone offered to w…alk m…me home." Kaya looked up the distance in her and her brother's height, her eyes clearly showing that she was telling the truth. When they stood close to each other like this, it was obvious how much shorter Kaya was to her brother, since the top of her head didn't quite reach his shoulder.

"Who walked you home? I couldn't sense any of their spiritual pressure around or in our house."

"Ikkie?" Kaya looked over her shoulder at her friend, a questioning look on her face. "I d…don't really re…member, but you offered a..at the st…art of the party and i…t was someone t…trust…worthy."

"Sorry, Rosy, it wasn't me." Ikkaku shrugged before noticing Izuru, who was scratching the back of his head.

"Is that why you were panicking, Shuhei?" He chuckled, clearly finding this situation amusing. "It was me. I was still sober enough to walk and Miss Hisagi couldn't wake you up so I offered. I never went inside and my spiritual pressure would already be in the house."

Kaya laughed, bouncing a little as her memory was fully restored. "I remember n…now! We talked ab…out Rangiku and ice."

"Rangiku and ice?" Shuhei looked at Izuru for understanding.

"She thought I was dating Rangiku at first," a light blush appeared on his otherwise pale face. "and Miss Hisagi recommended ice to keep the body temperature down whilst drinking."

"It works really well," Kaya assured with a nod of her head. She looked at Ikkaku, who had moved to stand beside her, draping an arm lazily over her shoulders.

"Can we get back to training?" At the dark look Shuhei gave him, he sighed. "Rosie asked me since you try and scare off anyone else who helps her build up her strength. Like to see you try with me."

As the two men sent each other challenging glares, Izuru turned to Kaya, who was looking as fearful for her friend and her brother. "Is it safe for you to be training so soon?"

Pulling her eyes away from the other two males to look at the lieutenant of Squad Three. "Yes, Kuro Zetsumei i…is helping me heal q…quicker, so I c…c…can train but can't push my…self too far. Ikkie will m…make sure."

"Very well. I'll drag Shuhei away if you drag Madarame away."

"Deal."

"Hey," Shuhei snapped, hearing what his friend and sister said.

Izuru grabbed Shuhei's arm as Ikkaku laughed and followed Kaya out of the Squad Eleven training ground. "Come on, you probably still have paperwork to do," commented the blond, pulling his friend in the opposite direction to Kaya and Ikkaku.

"Why does she need to get stronger anyway?" Shuhei grumbled, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms.

"Well," Izuru started in a calm voice. "For one, it would make her a better fighter, meaning there was less chance of her getting injured. I thought you would be happy about that."

"Shut up, Izuru," Shuhei growled, obviously seeing sense behind what his friend was saying but not wanting to admit it.

_**Finally got some more fighting into the story, though there will be more later. Hope you liked it, cause I can't promise a new chapter for a while since uni is demanding attention. I've been working on this one for three months thanks to uni.**_


	20. Kuro Zetsumei

The two stopped their shunpo once they were at a secluded location. Ikkaku gave Kaya a grin, clearing enjoying the idea of upping their fight.

"Re...remember, we are...n't killing each other," commented Kaya, looking at Ikkaku with a little bit of apprehension.

Ikkaku's smile softened and he stepped forward, putting his hands on her shoulders. "You do not fear anything, you cause others to fear. You must remember that, or you will never achieve your goal." He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "And I won't hurt you, you know that."

Kaya stood up straighter, a look of determination slowly filling her eyes. "Right." She stepped out of her friend's reach, drawing her zanpakuto. "Ensnare the mind, Kuro Zetsumei." Instantly her sword grew, starting at the hilt, into a broad sword, a cut out of the flat of the blade up near the guard, in the shape of a sinister heart. She tried to block out Ikkaku's fear of being weak, being at the mercy of his father's fists, being beaten; being starved. Not many of her opponent fears got to her, but Ikkaku's did. They were similar to hers in the way that they both wished to be stronger, so that others could no longer hurt them. Raising her eyes to meet Ikkaku's, she could see the slight fear in her friend's eyes as he released his sword. Giving him an encouraging smile, she lifted her broad sword and charged him.

She was slower than usual, what with the weights on her wrists, meaning that it would have been easy for Ikkaku to dodge the attack. Instead, he ignored the harsh words being thrown at him by his fear, and the bruises that felt as though they were appearing on his skin and instead met her blade with his.

A clang ran out as Kaya felt the force behind the blow, her arms shaking lightly. She returned Ikkaku's blood-thirsty smile with a soft smile. She moved away from Ikkaku, swinging low, her friend barely jumping it before losing his legs. He landed wobbly, disoriented by the memories of injuries and concussions he had received as a child.

Kaya had known for a long time that this was Ikkaku's, having sparred with him before and having been confided in by the third seat about his history. He had admitted that one of the reasons he admired Kaya so much was because she turned her fear into power, much like he went from weak to strong with determination.

Ikkaku thrusted his spear towards Kaya, making her block his attack with the flat of her blade. She quickly turned, directing the point of her blade at the man, her sword blocking the red head from the spear. She landed a hit to Ikkaku's shoulder, watching as blood seeped from the wound. It was obvious to them both that Kaya was becoming used to the added weight rather quickly, meaning Ikkaku could stop holding back like he originally had been. For years, Kaya hadn't been as skilled at sword fighting as Ikkaku was, or perhaps as proficient as her position called for her to be. Steadily, though, she had been improving, by training with various shinigami and also building on her strength so that her endurance was heightened.

With a grin, Ikkaku charged, putting Kaya on the defense, making her duck, dodge and block his spear tip. They knew each other's fighting style so well that it was near impossible for either of them to force the other into a trap. With a swing of her sword, Kaya activated it's shield, knocking Ikkaku back. "Protect the heart." The light radiated out, giving her a burst of energy and courage.

It was Ikkaku's turn to be on the defense as Kaya attacked him, swinging Kuro Zetsumei with one hand. When Ikkaku had stumbled back, she had seen her opportunity to beat him. As he slid back, he had guarded his center, making it clear to a well trained warrior that he was not thrilled with the idea of a close ranged fight. He knew that closer up, Kaya's ability was stronger; the black mist that leaked from her sword becoming more potent.

She charged, seeming to aim for his stomach, but at the last second, as he blocked, she pivoted and slammed the hilt into his nose. It was only because his zanpakuto could break apart and bend that he was saved from the brunt of the hit that may have forced him to lose consciousness. Kaya, however, had seen his movements. Ikkaku had not noticed that his movements were becoming sluggish from the fear surrounding him, allowing Kaya to see his movements before they were complete. She had pulled back her strength when she went to hit Ikkaku in the face and instead pointed two fingers at her friend's chest at the same time. "Hadou No. 30 Soukatsui." A shot of yellow light emanated from her fingers, hitting her friend square in the chest, sending him flying into a tree.

"_You're pathetic," hissed a man who looked remarkable like Ikkaku, except that he had jaw length, dark hair, cut unevenly. "I should feed you to a hollow, you weak, disgusting brat."_

The third seat glared at the illusion before shaking his head and rising to his feet, looking at his friend who stood so calmly before him, her large broad sword grasped in one hand effortlessly in front of her. He rolled his shoulders back as he got up with a look of determination. He knew she would never hurt him but he wanted the nightmare to end.

As he stared at his friend, who was calmly waiting for him to compose himself, he saw the wound in Kaya's stomach open, blood seeping through her clothing, turning them damp and sticky. Her skin became sickly pale, seeming to age her but at the same time make her look no more than a fragile child. A look of shock and panic painted his face as he stepped towards her, his hand extended to catch her at any moment.

"Rosie," he gasped as his father's ghastly form appeared behind Kaya, rolling his eyes as though the situation did not surprise him at all.

"_What do you expect, you trash? You're no use to anyone, just a waste of space to everyone. It would have been better if you had never drawn breath._"

Ikkaku started shaking, before noticing that Kaya was not showing any signs of dying besides the pool of blood and the paleness to her skin. She was still standing tall, holding onto her sword, waiting for him. It was then that he realized that it was all to do with her swords ability. He did fear her being injured, of him loosing someone he both admired and saw as one of his closest friends. "I'm sick of this," he growled. "Time to go all out, both of us, and end it."

Kaya nodded in agreement as her friend rolled his shoulders back and spoke with enthusiasm. "Bankia, Ryūmon Hōzukimaru."

With a smirk, the red head tightened her grasp on her sword. "I hope you're ready for this." She moved her sword to the side, drawing a mark in the dirt with the tip.  
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The air was thick, making every breath noticeable in an almost uncomfortable way. She, however, was relaxed as she looked around, ignoring the black mist that wafted around her ankles. Thunder clouds moved over head, threatening to release the water they held, but not seeming to follow through with it. She had always liked this type of weather, since it would help to hide her hair colour from the village she had lived in. The only time it had been anywhere near safe for her to walk around the village had been during a thunderstorm.

She looked around; spotting the one she had came to see. Whether they were human, animal, male or female was unknown to her, but she did not need this answer, all she needed was to know they were a part of her soul. With a small smile, she walked towards them, feeling as though she was walking on the dark mist instead of through it. The fog sent a shiver through her body that she knew wasn't due to cold temperatures but instead the atmosphere. Although she was comfortable in this world, her world, it still sent small amounts of fear through her body.

"Hello, Kuro Zetsumei," she greeted, drawing closer to the spirit.

Kuro Zetsumei looked at her out of the corner of it's eye, silvery pupils set in pools of white zeroed in on her face between black locks of hair as a airy, rattly breath was drawn into it's body. "We held back," it stated calmly, in a voice that sounded ghostly, and haunting.

"I kn…know."

"Why?"

Kaya sighed, having had this conversation before with her zanpakuto. "Be…cause I d…d…don't believe we should sc…are our friends."

Kuro Zetsumei turned, it's pale skin contrasting with it's dark hair and long black cloak that swallowed it's form and seemed to be made of the very mist that surrounded them. "Please do not stutter around me," it requested, moving towards her. It held out a thin, bony hand, black veins visible through the skin, matching the ones running over it's face. "You should not be afraid of me." It touched Kaya's cheek, watching as she turned into the touch.

"I'm not afraid of _you_, but more of disappointing you."

"I take your fear and turn it to strength," it reminded her, it's voice never losing it's frightening sound. "As long as you keep fighting your fear and allow me to aid you, fight alongside you, then I am not disappointed. I may not enjoy holding back but as long as those particular people do not cause you to fear for your safety or happiness then I understand."

"Thank you," breathed Kaya, her cheek still resting in Kuro Zetsumei's palm.

"We still have to work on our fighting though, before we can reach our goal."

"I know." She gave a small smile as her zanpakuto dropped it's hand, looking at her seriously.

"I have one condition though." When Kaya looked at it with a questioning look, Kuro Zetsumei went on. "You must heal fully before we take the last step to our goal, or I will not allow it."

Kaya nodded, her smile growing. Her sword often reminded her of a calmer version of her brother, except that it looked younger than she was. "Of course, Kuro, I promise you."

"Good, then I believe it is time for you to train with me. If you wish us to hold back when fighting others that is fine, but I will not hold back when fighting you."

The red head thought over the proposition before realizing that fighting Kuro Zetsumei wasn't all about gaining skill but also showing her zanpakuto that she was ready, and strong. She nodded her head, knowing full well she had just agreed to literally fighting her fears. She knew what her minor fears were, thanks to her sword but her greatest fear was still a mystery to her.

"We will not do this at the moment, you need to rest," instructed the sword, putting it's hand on her shoulder. "You should return to your world and we will continue this another time."

With a nod, Kaya closed her eyes and withdrew from her world, opening her eyes to see the inside of her office, where she was sitting on a cushion. Sitting at her desk, spinning around in her chair, was her captain. She raised an eye brow at him as she turned in her seat to look at him.

"How's Kuro Zetsumei?" he asked, as though it was natural to invade his fifth seat's working space, which it was for him.

"Good. We've d…ecided to train a…against each other, and i…t m…ade me promise to n…n…not go after our goal until I'm fully he…aled." Kaya stood up, and walked over to her captain and sat on his knee, curling up on his lap.

He instantly hugged her to him, as though she was his own child. He often told people that she was his love child with Nanao, which earned him a laugh from Kaya and a hit from Nanao that would often knock him to the ground. Captain Kyoraku chuckled, making his chest rumble. "I knew there was a reason I liked your zanpakuto, it's as protective as I am."

"I h…ave a lot of pr…pr…otective people in my life," acknowledged the girl, her words coming out slightly muffled. "You, Nanao, Chika, Ikkie, Yumi and mostly Shuie."

"I know, and eventually we will have to accept that you can look after yourself, but that will not stop us from trying to protect you." Captain Kyoraku soothingly ran his fingers through Kaya's hair, knowing if he kept doing it that he would put her to sleep. She had been working hard all day, fighting the drowsiness that her pain killers caused. He wished to put a stop to the fight and get her to rest, though he was fairly certain she knew what he was doing.

Kaya nodded. "That's fine. I'll protect you too." Her voice came out weak, showing she had lost the battle.

With a smile, the captain scooped her up and walked to his office, putting Kaya carefully on the couch, knowing that Nanao was watching him closely, for once approving of his actions.

_**Finally finished the chapter, and as I promised, there is fighting within it. Hope you all liked it and decide to review.**_


	21. Realisation

There was a prickling sensation that ran up his spine. It was not an unusual feeling, and truthfully he found this particular one comforting and familiar. The feeling tended to occur when a person with a particularly strong spiritual pressure was sparing or fighting. He had become used to it after years of working in the soul society and became even more accustom to it after becoming Tosen's lieutenant.

Unfortunately, Shuhei could not work out why he was so comforted by this particular spiritual pressure. He felt safe around it, yet there was something slightly unnerving within it, something that chilled him to the core. Until that point he honestly did not think such a thing was possible. The person was strong, around lieutenant ranking though there level was steady, meaning they were not pushing themselves to keep the pace they were at. He tried to think of who he knew that was of such strength and had the presence of the person he was sensing.

He knew it was not Renji, who had a wild, beastly presence, and it was not Rangiku, who had an untamable, tempting feel to her spiritual pressure. He thought for a moment that it could be Izuru, whose spiritual pressure had the dark atmosphere to it that this spiritual pressure had, but his was heavy, and often made Shuhei feel as though he should confess to any wrong he may have done. This was different, it was dark, yes, but it was also calm, almost torturously so and made him want to jump at the slightest noise or flicker of light. He mainly found it comforting because he knew, subconsciously, that he could trust this person with his life and that he would die for their happiness, not just their safety.

"It couldn't be," he thought out loud, letting his brush hover over the document he was filling out. He frowned as he thought over his ideas on who it could be. "It can't be, they're not that powerful… are they?"  
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The room was warm, bringing a sweat to his forehead, making him wish to drink more. He could feel the heat to his face that meant his cheeks were red much like with Shuhei but he didn't really care.

"So then I hit him on the head with the wooden sword. Seriously, I'm starting to think they don't even train them before they leave the academy." Renji slammed his empty sake cup on the table, sighing in exasperation about one of his subordinates. "And Captain Kuchiki has made it my responsibility to train the kid."

Shuhei laughed boisterously as he refilled Renji's cup. "Man, that sucks, but at least you're not being overworked like Izuru and I am."

Izuru nodded in agreement, only to get the sensation of falling. He straightened up, breathing deep to try and clear his head. It worked though he was thinking he should perhaps order some food.

"Yeah, that must suck," Renji admitted, giving a downcast look. "Do you guys know when you might be getting a captain?"

"No clue," Izuru sighed, trying not to think about it. Part of him did not want a new captain, for it meant that Ichimaru had truly betrayed them and wasn't simply fooling them to help them beat Aizen. Obviously he knew that his captain was now the enemy but part of him had hoped.

"Truthfully it will be good but is there anyone in the soul society that is powerful enough to take the position of a captain?" Shuhei asked, looking from one friend to another, seeing in their expression that they themselves were not sure of the answer either. "I know some people can hide their spiritual pressure well but surely we would have felt something."

The small group decided to get something to eat, at the suggestion of Izuru, who had put a hand on his clearly churning stomach. Shuhei and Izuru decided that it was Renji who had to go retrieve the food, since it was far too busy for them to successfully flag down a waitress.

"You know, I've began to notice that Kaya is good at hiding her spiritual pressure," Shuhei stated as though they had been talking about his little sister the whole time.

"What do you mean?" Izuru asked with a slur to his words.

"My sister has had a spiritual pressure of a fifth seat for a fair few years, but it was always steady, never wavering, and I always thought that she could be a fourth seat, if she wasn't friends with the person who is the fourth seat of squad eight. The other day though, I was certain I felt her spiritual pressure holding steady at a lieutenant's level. If she was straining herself to reach that level than it would have been wavering, dipping low and then spiking to that level, but it wasn't. How is it possible I did not notice my own sister, practically my daughter was the same level in strength as me? Why did she feel the need to hide it from me?"

Izuru thought for a moment as he filled Shuhei's cup, thinking he may need it. "Are you sure it was her?"

"I felt her zanpakuto's presence when it first started to appear, I know it anywhere. Hell, it gave me nightmares after the first time." Shuhei shuttered before gulping down his drink.

"What happened to give you nightmares?" Izuru frowned, knowing that his best friend did not scare easily, and he himself had versed Kaya's zanpakuto and did not think it was powerful enough to shake his friend to the core.

"It was before I entered the academy, and was actually the event that made me finally decide to become a soul reaper. We lived in this dingy little shack and someone broke in to rob us. It wasn't like we had much, but anything in that district was better than nothing. I hadn't been home at the time. I had been at work at this bar that I could never let Kaya set eyes on. On my way home I felt this heavy, dark presence weighing on my shoulders. I knew what spiritual pressure felt like so I ran home. The door was broken and inside was Kaya with one of my practise swords. The robber was on the ground, his real sword next to him, and he wasn't moving, except when Kaya hit him with the practise sword. Turns out she had woken up when he was ransacking the house and attacked him. He was bleeding from the head and he died, not that anyone cared. He was a horrible man, a killer. The atmosphere, the feeling, coming off of Kaya was terrifying and the look in her eyes, so cold, as though she didn't care that she was hurting another human being. That was not the girl I raised, it was the thing that she wields. The feeling was nearly choking me and then Kaya saw me, her face had bits of blood on it from the man and she jumped over the guy's body and ran over to me, tears in her eyes. She kept saying how he scared her and she was worried he was going to hurt me when I got home."

Shuhei took a sip of his drink as Renji sat down with the food.

"Don't get me wrong," he went on, "I'm glad that Kaya was safe, that her zanpakuto's presence was able to save her, I just wish that Kuro Zetsumi was not the sword she wielded. I think that Kazeshini is a better option than hers."

"You know," Renji spoke up, clearly getting the basics of the conversation. "Your sister is a pretty powerful girl. I've known her for a while, though I had no idea that she was your sister. She is the only person besides Captain Kenpachi and his lieutenant who can tell Ikkaku what to do and have him actually do it. I've seen her walk into Squad Eleven to get the bi-monthly reports and have half the members hit on her and before Ikkaku or Yumichika and kill them for it she's put them in their place with a simple kido or even by releasing her sword and leaving them crying in the corner. She's a pretty powerful soul reaper and if you haven't realised that it is because you ever refuse to see it or she doesn't want you to."

Shuhei choked on the food he had been happily chewing. "Excuse me?"

"His right, Shuhei," added Izuru. "Miss Hisagi is a skilled shinigami and you should respect her as one."  
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With every step he took his head gave a painful pound in reply. He winced, thinking how he really needed to learn to say no to Renji and Shuhei when they suggest drinking in the middle of the week. It always made work the next day harder. He had thought this very thing numerous times but never seemed to learn for he often repeated his mistake.

A groan escaped his lips as he felt the vibrations of heavy footfalls, signalling that someone was running towards him. Peaking over his shoulder he was surprised to see Kaya Hisagi, looking healthier then she had in a number of weeks. Her long red hair was in a high ponytail, allowing it to sway like a pendulum with the timing of her steps. Her face was coated with a small amount of red that could have been the result of running to catch him, or more likely was a blush of shyness that seemed to always be present with Miss Hisagi when she was not drinking.

As she drew closer to him, she slowed her pace to a walk, smiling at him. "Lieutenant Kira, I... I've been l...l...looking for y...ou." She gave him a bow, something that surprised him.

He had never stopped to truly realise that he was her superior because when it came to any danger within the Soul Society, where the Recovery team was needed, she instantly became his superior. He had to listen to her if her team had to step in. It honestly made him wonder how a fifth seat gained such a position, but then he remembered what Renji and Shuhei had said the night before about her power. _How powerful is she?_ He thought before giving her a small smile. "What is it you need, Miss Hisagi?"

In reply she handed him a folded slip of paper. Upon opening it he discovered it was a request form from Squad Eight's head of Recovery (Kaya Hisagi) to Squad Four, requesting training for the Recovery team in medical kido. Izuru frowned, not understanding what this had to do with him. As though understanding his confusion, Miss Hisagi started to explain.

"Captain Unahana said sh...e didn't have enough p...p...people to spar and s...suggested ex-members of Squad Four to help. Shuie m...mentioned that you were i...i...in Squad Four. Could-you-please-train-a-member-of-my-team?"

The last sentence was said with such speed that it took a moment for Izuru to work out what was said. He realised it was probably the only way she could speak without stuttering though. He tried to think if her request was possible only to have his head pound furiously in retaliation. As he held his head in pain he squinted at Miss Hisagi, who was patiently waiting for an answer. "I will have to see but I will send you an answer within the day, and if it is possible for me to help I will also send you my schedule so you can find the member of your team whose schedule is close enough to mine that we can organise times."

Miss Hisagi smiled widely at his words before bowing again. "Thank you, Lieutenant Kira, I h...hope you have a... a pleasant day."

"You too, Miss Hisagi."

With a wave goodbye Kaya ran off to the old training ground of Squad Eight that she had booked for herself. Although no one really used it since it didn't have the newer equipment and it was badly damaged in parts she still put a booking on it so that no one would decide to go there as she was and get trapped by her zanpakuto.

The grounds smelt different to the newer ones that received a clean every two days. This one had the mixed aroma of dust, dry blood and aged sweat. Since the large grounds were open to the air the smell was not over whelming. Once she got close to the middle of the training grounds, she pulled out her zanpukato, watching as black smoke emanated from the blade, taking form a meter away from her.

"Are you healed?" asked a ghostly voice as the black mist swirled into a black cloak and lank black hair, a pale face appearing.

"Yes, Captain Unahana says I can tr...train a...as long as I stop if I f...f...feel pain in my stomach. You have helped a lot."

"That is good, but I hope you have prepared yourself, for I do not plan to go easy on you."

Kaya nodded, staring at her zanpakuto with determination.

_**Yeey, I was able to get a chapter of this story done during the 'holidays'. I used the quote marks because it mainly consists of studying. Hope you all like it and the story should be progressing a bit quicker from now on. Hope you like and R and R.**_


	22. Ultimate and Private

She felt the fear trickle into her body, making her start to shake and sweat. Never had she thought that this person would be her ultimate fear. What was worse, was that when Kuro Zetsumi stopped holding back it was able to make a person's fear completely corporal, with blood, pain senses, everything short of a true consciousness. The fear would only do what you were afraid they would do.

Kaya had known that her minor fears were being taunted and hurt like in the district, and not being able to help her brother, but she had never imagined that her greatest fear would take this form. Her palms started to sweat, making her grip on her hilt slick as she tried to stop the incessant shaking. Kuro Zetsumi gave her time to compose herself but that did little to comfort her.

"It's not him, it's not him," Kaya chanted as she tightened her grip on her katana, raising it and positioning herself in a fighting stance. Her fear sneered at her as though it was all an act she was putting on, before he charged her, throwing one of his double ended scythes at her, keeping a hold of the chain connecting it with another, identical, one. Kaya deflected it with her sword, sending it off to the side until her fear gave the chain a tug, returning the weapon to his hand. Kaya saw an opening; he kept one side unprotected when he spun the scythe by the chain on the other side.

She charged, but as she was about to bring her sword in for a strike she was ceased by fear, making her heart race and her body freeze. The look he gave her, whilst filled with malice was so similar to the one the real him gave her that for a moment, she was unable to believe it was not really him. Her hesitation gave him the time he needed to bring the other scythe around, stabbing it into her shoulder. White hot pain clouded her vision as she slammed her hilt into his body, making a quick retreat further down the field whilst he was dazed.

Holding a hand to the wound, Kaya looked over at the apparition, noticing the look of satisfaction on his face. "You're n...n...not him!" she grounded out through clenched teeth. "You are on...ly my fear! You are m...y f...fear that he will be...come con...consum...ed with the power of his zanpakuto since he h...as never tried to control it or... or learn from it." She took a deep breath to calm herself before saying in the strongest voice she could muster, trying to convince herself, "You are not my brother!"

The Shuhei lookalike smirked. "You don't seem to sure about that." He slung his weapon over his shoulders and put his hands together.

"Oh no." She knew that kido stance. It was her brother's most used kido, the one he favoured. Kaya ducked as the white rod went flying for her heart. "Y...ou're no...not going to make thi...s easy, are you?"

The fear Shuhei chuckled. "Why would I do that, you pathetic piece of..."

"Hadou No. 33 Soukatsui!"

The kido cut off the man's words and clipped his side. Blood soaked his black uniform as a hiss of pain escaped between his teeth. He looked down at the wound before raising his cold eyes to Kaya. "Is that the best you can do?"

"N..n...ot a change," Kaya assured, wishing the stutter had not appeared, since it revealed her fear even if her eyes were clouded from it. She kept chanting to herself that this was not her brother as he swung his scythe, preparing for an attack. Raising her broad sword, Kaya didn't give him a chance, going on the attack before he could. She aimed for his injured side, using his weakness to her advantage, and keeping him on the back step.

The fear Shuhei raised his shoulder to block her sword as it swung down. Too late he realised it was a bluff and that she turned at the last moment, moving to bring her sword across, into the wounded ribs.

"Kaya-chan," he whispered.

Kaya choked on her sob as the fear Shuhei threw her off guard with words spoken just like her real brother. Shuhei would call her that, in the same soft whisper when she would wake from a nightmare as a child, only to find herself safe in her big brother's arms, with his comforting words.

"Shuhei," she whispered back, halting her strike.

The man before her turned his tender smile into a bloodcurdling smirk before kicking her in the stomach, since she was too close to effectively use his weapons. "You're so pathetic; I should have left you to the hollows when you were only a disgusting, crying baby."

The words stung, and no matter how much she told herself that the man before her was not Shuhei, a part of her would not believe it. She couldn't fight, making her go on the defence. Her arms felt as though they were led, encompassed in jelly. When she finally managed to raise them to block an attack they shook so violently she feared that she may drop her sword onto her when blocking blows from above.

There was no way for her to know how long the fight went on but whenever she gained the opportunity to beat the Shuhei produced by fear, he did something, something as miniscule as giving her a sad look, and she was overwhelmed by the fear that she was going to strike her brother, stopping her from following through with the final strike. As he fought her, she had a compulsion to try and safe him from the corruption he was consumed by, even though a part of her knew that it was hopeless, for this was not the real Shuhei. To make matters more difficult, her shoulder injury was bleeding more heavily by the minute, making her woozy and making her drop to her knees.

Shuhei charged, holding one scythe with both his hands, putting all his strength into one blow that he was going to bring down onto her head. Kaya knew that even if she had the heart to fight him, she did not have the strength. This attack would be the last. She fell back, so that she was lying in the dirt and watched as her brother's zanpakuto came down onto her face, refusing to close her eyes.

A mere inch before it landed, Shuhei turned into black smoke, dispensing and returning to Kuro Zetsumi's cloak. Kaya didn't even bother moving as she panted for air. Her body was limp and she doubted it would respond to any request she gave it. Her heart pounded so furiously against the inside of her ribs that they may have bruised them worse than her brother had. There was an uncomfortable prickling in her eyes before she felt hot, wet trails appear from the corner of her eyes, disappearing into her hair line. One tear followed the curve of her ear in an irritating manner, as though goading her into moving her arm to wipe it away.

She didn't give in though, even as Kuro Zetsumi calmly walked up to her. "You did well," it assured, holding a hand out for her to take.

With shaking arms and difficult breaths Kaya took it, being lifted onto unwilling legs. "I lost."

"But you fought. Many would not, especially with a fear like yours." Kuro Zetsumi raised its bony hand to Kaya's face, stroking her cheek.

There was many times that Kaya had wondered if her zanpakuto was malnourished, since its hands looked more like pale flesh pulled over bone that held barely any meat, if any. However, Kuro had never complained about being hungry and besides the deadly paleness, it did not look unhealthy.

"You will do better next time," it said with so much confidence that the red head found herself nodding in agreement. "But it is enough for today, we will train harder tomorrow."

Kuro Zetsumi disappeared back into Kaya's sword moments before she sealed it and started to make the arduous trek back to her barracks, each step causing a wave of hot exhaustion to wash through her body. She knew she was going to have to stop into the office to get Nanao to heal her, but hopefully after that she could go to bed without being questioned about her training.

As it was, Nanao did try to gain answers from Kaya about what her ultimate fear was and how she sustained her injury, but Captain Kyoraku, seeing how shaken Kaya was, made Nanao stop pressuring her for answers.

"She'll tell us when she's ready, but don't be surprised if she doesn't. A person's greatest fear is a rather private thing, so private that they themselves tend not to know." Captain Kyoraku's eyes gained the gleam that they always had when he was showing his wisdom and age, the very gleam that made Kaya respect and care for him so dearly. The look always comforted her, as though he knew every move in the game of life and was going to make sure she got through it safely.

When she left the office, however, his words stayed with her. She had never thought about the fact that she was gaining personal insight into the mind of her opponents. When she thought of the shinigami she had fought, using her zanpakuto, she realised that her captain was right. She knew that one of her captain's fears was failing his squad, that even though he seemed like a slacker, he actually put everything he had into ensuring their safety and happiness; she knew that Chika feared not being accepted by those he cared about, and Tani had feared dying with regrets, which she thankfully had not. Another person came to mind. Lieutenant Kira feared that he had let a close friend down by obeying Ichimaru, who eventually betrayed him. He felt as though his captain's betrayal and his friend's pain where his fault, as though he had driven one to harm the other. It didn't quite make sense to her but she knew fear was much like love in the way that it could be maddeningly irrational.

She gripped her sword's hilt tightly in anger, making the muscles in her arm scream in agony. It was unfair that Kira should hold such emotions over another's actions. Kaya also felt a cold chill trickle into her body when she thought of her brother. She knew she should not have the thought that she did but she wondered if part of Shuhei thought that Tousen had a point. He had respected the man so highly, someone who had, in many ways, shaped Shuhei's thoughts of battle and of his own zapukato. Tousen had been a highly influential part of Shuhei's life and had appeared to be a morally just man until his departure. What if Kaya's fear came true through Shuhei not being able to accept what his captain had done?

"It's not going to happen," she grounded out through clenched teeth as she threw her door open in anger. "I don't care if I have to cut that traitor's head off myself, he will not harm my brother." Her anger helped to suppress her fear, but after the days training, it lingered, a constant reminder to something she had not even known was there when she had woken that morning. "I am doing this for him and for myself, no matter how much I have to suffer first."

She closed the door and started to strip off, out of her sweaty clothing. She was hoping for a relaxing bath before a restful sleep but something told her that she would not receive the latter of the two.

_**Sorry for the wait, I was determined to make this chapter perfect. I hope you all liked it and feel the desire to review.**_


	23. Guilt

He could have just had someone else in his squad go get the papers for him, but he really wished to get out of his squad barracks, and away from his desk, so he took the opportunity presented to him and decided to go himself. Walking slowly, he tried to sense out the spiritual pressure of the one he was looking for, however, he could not. There were a few possible reasons behind this, starting with: she was suppressing her spiritual pressure or she had put up a kido barrier. That meant he would have to look in more the old-fashioned way to find Kaya Hisagi.

Going to her squad barracks, he asked the squad eight members he ran into if they knew where the red-head was. A number did not, but eventually he found a young girl, fresh out of the academy by the looks of it, who refused to meet his eye. The girl was able to tell him that she saw the 'scary, but sweet' girl heading towards the old training ground. Izuru had tried not to laugh when the girl used those words to describe the red-head, figuring the girl had seen Miss Hisagi's zanpukato released. Asking the girl for directions, Izuru headed in the direction that Miss Hisagi was believed to be in.

Just as he reached the doorway the red head came running out, falling on all fours and throwing up the contents of her stomach, tears streaming down her face. Izuru instantly crouched beside her, moving the end of her ponytail from over her shoulder, where it risked falling in the vomit. He rubbed her back as her muscles constricted and released. When she gave a pained noise, raising one of her hands to her stomach, he put a hand on top of hers, using a healing kido to release the tension placed on her muscles.

Finally, Miss Hisagi was able to sit up and look over at him, tear tracks marking her unusually pale face. Wordlessly, she rose onto shaky legs and walked back into the training ground, over to a towel and water bottle. Izuru followed, watching as she washed out her mouth and wiped her face. He couldn't see anyone else in the training ground that could explain the woman's condition but there was a depressive air to the place that Izuru believed belonged to Miss Hisagi's sword.

"Are you alright? Do you need to go to the Relief Station?" Izuru walked towards the red-head, giving her condition a once over. It was possible that she had the flu or some other illness that would explain her throwing up.

"No." Miss Hisagi's voice was raw and strained but she was able to pull her shoulders back and look strong. "I'll b...be fine."

"Are you sure?" When he received a nod, he sighed. "I'm here if you need me, just so you know."

"Thank you," whispered Miss Hisagi, before she frowned. "Wha...t are you d...d...doing here?"

"You have papers I need for my squad."

"Oh." Miss Hisagi jumped, looking surprised. "I forgot." She instantly grabbed her things and led the way to her office, stopping only to ask someone to clean up the mess she made. She was very apologetic to the person who assured her that it was fine. Once in her office she started rummagine through the papers on her desk until she finally found the ones he needed.

As she did he wondered over to the small kitchen that was connected to her office as well as the office of the fourth seat. The boy was not within the little room so Izuru rummaged in the draws until he found their tea leaves, making a tea for Miss Hisagi and himself. When he walked back into the room with the two cups the woman looked up in surprise.

"Sorry, I sh...should have off...ferred." Miss Hisagi thanked him as she took the cup from him.

"It's alright, I thought it could help settle your stomach." He sat in front of her desk and calmly blew on the drink before taking a sip. The colour was slowly returning to Miss Hisagi's face but there was a hallowness to her eyes that unnerved him, making him wonder what had caused it. "Are you feeling better?"

"Ye..yes, thank you." The girl was jumpy, looking around the room as though she was in danger. "H...have you seen Shuie to...to...today?"

"No, I haven't yet." Izuru studied her closely.

"Okay," she whispered, looking down into her cup before speaking again, not looking up. "I'm sorry th...that I used m...m...my sword on you. I have since r...realised that a per...person's fear is pri...vate."

The blond man thought over her words before blushing. "Yes, they are, but I do not feel as though you should apologise. I asked you to release your zanpakuto, even though I knew what it could do."

"My fear is being taunted and hurt, and not being able to help my brother." She spoke with confidence even though there was a ghostly tone to her voice. "And you should not feel guilty."

"Excuse me?" Izuru asked in surprise, not knowing what she meant, though having an inkling as to what it was about.

"Ichimaru made his decision, and you did nothing but do what you were told by your captain. Everyone was confused at that stage, not knowing who the enemy was, or who was in the right. You did what you were meant to do, and it wasn't your fault that your friend got hurt. The only ones to blame are Aizen, Ichimaru and Tosen."

Izuru didn't know what put him into more shock: Miss Hisagi talking so much without stuttering and without alcohole, or what she had actually said. She didn't seem to expect an answer of him right away, or if ever, so it gave him time to think over what she had said as they sipped their tea. Finally a thought came into his mind. "Why did you tell me your fear?"

"Be...because I kn...know yours."

It made sense, to some extent, but he was still surprised that Miss Hisagi had given up private information about herself so readily. He was also greatful though, for her trust, and for her words. There was sense behind what she said in regards to his guilt and fear. There was no reason for him to feel the way he did, though he highly doubted he would feel better until Momo recovered.

"Thank you, Miss Hisagi." He inclined his head to her as he set his tea cup down.

"Call m...e Kaya." The haunted look to her eyes was slowly disappearing and a blush was flourishing on her cheeks.

"Only if, outside work situations, you call me Izuru." He returned the smile the red head gave him before grabbing the papers he had came for, and standing. "It was a pleasure speaking with you, and if you need anything, or if you are still not feeling well, just let me know and I will happily help you, Kaya."

"Thank you, and I will, Izuru." She went to stand to walk him out, but Izuru waved her off, telling her to rest. With one last thank you, and a goodbye, he took his leave, feeling lighter than he had in a while.

_**Finally got a new chapter up. It took me a lot longer than I expected but it's here now. Thank you to Crimson Ribbon for the cover art for this story. R and R.**_


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